International Librarianship at Home and Abroad [1st Edition] 9780081018972, 9780081018965

Table of contents :
Content:
Series Page,Front Matter,Copyright,List of Figures,About the AuthorEntitled to full textChapter 1 - The Study of International Librarianship, Pages 1-18
Chapter 2 - Current Practices in International Librarianship, Pages 19-34
Chapter 3 - International Librarianship Survey: What Are Librarians Broadly Thinking?, Pages 35-52
Chapter 4 - International Librarianship Interviews: What Are Individual Librarians Thinking About Deeply?, Pages 53-81
Chapter 5 - The Many Forms of International Librarianship Abroad and at Home, Pages 83-96
Chapter 6 - Internationalization at Home, Pages 97-106
Chapter 7 - Reframing International Librarianship, Pages 107-118
Chapter 8 - Putting International Librarianship Into Practice: Beginning Points, Pages 119-129
Chapter 9 - Wider Themes and Trends, Pages 131-146
Chapter 10 - What Next? Moving International Librarianship Forward, Pages 147-158
Chapter 11 - The Role of English in International Librarianship, Pages 159-171
Chapter 12 - Ending and Beginning, Pages 173-185
Appendix A - Online Survey, Pages 187-189
Appendix B - Personal Interview Guide, Page 191
Index, Pages 193-196

Citation preview

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INTERNATIONAL LIBRARIANSHIP AT HOME AND ABROAD

KAREN BORDONARO

Chandos Publishing is an imprint of Elsevier 50 Hampshire Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, OX5 1GB, United Kingdom Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Details on how to seek permission, further information about the Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangements with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions. This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than as may be noted herein). Notices Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility. To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-0-08-101896-5 (print) ISBN: 978-0-08-101897-2 (online) For information on all Chandos Publishing publications visit our website at https://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals

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LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Google Books Ngram viewer: foreign students, international students8 Figure 3.1 Geographic location of survey respondents

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Figure 3.2 Personal meaning of international librarianship

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Figure 3.3 Library positions most involved with international librarianship

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Figure 3.4 Reasons why these positions are most involved

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Figure 3.5 Importance of the role of international librarianship

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Figure 3.6 International librarianship as curriculum in library school

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Figure 3.7 International librarianship and multilingualism

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Figure 3.8 Library functions most suited to international librarianship

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Figure 3.9 Best ways for learning about international librarianship

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Figure 3.10 Experiencing international librarianship without travel abroad

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Figure 3.11 Considering yourself an international librarian

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Karen Bordonaro is a liaison librarian at the Brock University Library in St Catharine’s, Ontario, Canada. She has been a practicing librarian for over 30 years. She works extensively with international students and scholars in her current full-time librarian position, as well as working as a part-time ESL (English as a second language) instructor. In addition, she has a very personal interest in international librarianship from working in a Canadian library environment as an American in a border area (the Niagara region). Karen has a bachelor’s degree in German and Spanish, master’s degrees in German, library and information studies, and teaching English to speakers of other languages, and a PhD in foreign and second language education. Her research interests focus on library learning and language learning, the use of libraries by ESL students, and how internationalization is practiced in German academic libraries.

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CHAPTER 1

The Study of International Librarianship INTRODUCTION International librarianship evokes a world of possibilities. The phrase itself conjures up images of glamorous travel and heartfelt humanitarian aid. It can represent librarians around the world connecting patrons to needed information and promoting the cause of literacy.Yet the reality can also include many librarians feeling disconnected from these perceived high-minded ideals. Practicing librarians from developing nations, for example, can be marginalized in areas such as the scholarship of higher education and attendance at international library conferences. Practicing librarians from developed nations can also feel marginalized from international librarianship in their day-to-day work settings, far from the glamour of international study and travel. This book examines the concept and reality of international librarianship at home and abroad. Its purpose is to discover what practicing librarians from both developing and developed nations think it means, and from there to glean ways that it can inform everyday practice. “Everyday practice” as used throughout this book refers to the work of librarianship performed by librarians in their home libraries. As such, the intent of this book is not to glorify international librarianship, but instead to investigate its understandings to enrich and potentially improve the everyday work done by librarians in their home institutions in very practical ways. Sari Feldman, American Library Association (ALA) president for 2015–16, noted that “While we often define community locally, we are part of a global profession. Articulating a message of opportunity and progress is essential for both developed and developing countries.We are truly one profession serving many communities” (Feldman, 2015, p. 2). Similarly, upon being named the new secretary general of IFLA (the International Federation of Library Associations), Gerald Leitner issued a statement through a personal email communication on June 1, 2016 to the IFLA list promoting the motto “Think globally—act regionally and locally.” This book starts from the spirit of both “one profession, many communities” and “think globally, act locally.” International Librarianship at Home and Abroad ISBN 978-0-08-101896-5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101896-5.00001-6

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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From these professional anchor-points, the book seeks to explore facets of international librarianship that could lend themselves to daily practices in home library settings.

FROM MY CORNER OF THE WORLD I am an American citizen working in a Canadian university library. I live in the United States and commute across the border every day to work. Although I live and work in English-speaking environments, this cultural shift I experience daily has led me to wonder about international librarianship. I wonder what it means, if I am experiencing it myself, and how other librarians might experience it. I have long been interested in working with international students and scholars in academic libraries in both the United States and Canada. I have also worked for many years as a part-time ESL (English as a second language) instructor in addition to being a full-time librarian. So my experience of working with students and researchers who are both nonnative English speakers and native English speakers from different countries spans both libraries and formal classroom settings. In the last 2 years I have started to investigate international aspects of librarianship as well, to broaden my own professional and research horizons. I took a study trip abroad in the spring of 2015 to Germany to see how librarians there work with international students in their academic libraries. And in November 2015 I hosted a Jamaican academic librarian for 3 weeks at my own home library. Speaking and interacting with librarians in different countries and different settings has piqued my interest in learning more about international librarianship. In addition to visiting and hosting librarians from other countries, I became a co-editor of International Leads, the newsletter put out by the International Relations Round Table (IRRT) of the ALA. Soliciting news articles, working with other members of the round table, and attending international librarian events at ALA conferences continue to expand my personal horizons. Committing to a research project to investigate international librarianship more systematically and then sharing results through this book are the foci of my learning efforts right now. It is my hope that the book can help shed more light on what librarians as a profession think about international librarianship, and in so doing potentially expand not only my own understandings but other librarians’ understandings as well.

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BACKGROUND LITERATURE IN LIBRARIANSHIP International librarianship has been understood and investigated in the professional literature in myriad ways. Its current manifestation appears in the form of recent calls for librarians to share perspectives on international topics. College & Research Libraries News, for example, began a new column called “International Insights” in May 2016. Its purpose is to “provide a global perspective on issues relevant to academic and research libraries, and offer ideas and opportunities for action” (Chu, Ford,Witt, Lau, & Scheeder, 2016, p. 239). Likewise, portal: Libraries and the Academy launched a column in its July 2015 issue called “Global Perspectives”; its stated purpose is to “to emphasize the increasing internationalization of higher education and the essential role of libraries in global engagement” (Ryan, 2015, p. 387). And the Journal of Library Administration starting running a new section called “Global Perspectives” in 2013 aiming to present information shared by and for library administrators in columns that …represent different parts of the globe…that challenge practices in distant places, reflect the realities of various economies, or share cultural views that will help erase boundaries and demystify unfamiliar places and practices, while they show a larger world view to column readers. Agee (2013, pp. 167–168)

These calls for librarians to share ideas on international library topics signal a renewed interest in exploring, describing, sharing, and promoting current international library work. This book syncs neatly with this contemporary professional emphasis on exploring international library work with a fresh look at what it might mean and how it could be practiced. The current call for new descriptions and research about international library perspectives comes out of a longer history in the literature of descriptive reports. Descriptive reports about library experiences abroad are the most common way that the topic of international librarianship seems to appear and be understood in the literature. This time-honored way of understanding international librarianship consists of travel narratives (Stewart, 2006), program descriptions (Coombs, 2013), tips for working abroad (Barr-Walker, 2013; Phillips & Holvoet, 2017), personal reminiscences (Liang, 2015), and sharing information about how libraries operate in different countries (Gyeszly, 2010).These types of reports in the literature serve as a way for traveling librarians to share insights with colleagues at home libraries. They are often based on describing differences with home library policies, functions, and operations. Because of their content, these reports are generally viewed as

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examples of international librarianship.This content, however, is often a more typical reflection of comparative librarianship.

COMPARATIVE LIBRARIANSHIP Comparative librarianship is defined by Robert D. Stueart in International Librarianship:A Basic Guide to Global Knowledge Access as “a method of inquiry that specifically focuses on a systematic analysis of the development, practice, and philosophy of library and information services in the various social contexts, comparing one country or region with one or more others” (Stueart, 2007, p. 8). Comparative librarianship is not necessarily synonymous with international librarianship, because each presumes a different focus. Comparative librarianship compares how librarianship is practiced in a home country versus different countries, and aims primarily to highlight differences. International librarianship, in contrast, could potentially include comparative librarianship, but can also offer a wider lens for investigation. International librarianship can collect both differences and similarities more broadly, and then examine and interpret those patterns to understand worldwide manifestations of librarianship.

DEFINITIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LIBRARIANSHIP International librarianship has not been conclusively defined in the literature to date. A well-known and often-quoted definition from 1974 posits that International librarianship consists of activities carried out among or between governmental or non-governmental institutions, organizations, groups or individuals of two or more nations, to promote establish, develop, maintain and evaluate library, documentation and allied services, and librarianship and the library profession generally, in any part of the world. Parker (1974, p. 221)

Further definitions have both simplified these sentiments and offered different perspectives. Krzys, for example, boiled down the essence of international librarianship to “the study or practice of librarianship in a manner that transcends national boundaries” (Krzys, Litton, & Hewit, 1983, p. 112). Witt, on the other hand, emphasizes its historical aspect by seeing international librarianship as an evolving historical paradigm, a “novel network…that led to a worldwide library profession and establishment of an international organization that continues to support library development across the globe” (Witt, 2014, pp. 506–507). In addition to

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descriptive and historical definitions, Bliss (1993, pp. 39–40) notes that library literature offers four components that serve as a fundamental framework for the field of international librarianship: “international librarianship as a theoretical context; international librarianship as it relates to professional practice; international librarianship as it relates to library education; and international librarianship as it relates to the control and/ or standardization of information and information formats.” This lack of consensus in the library literature as to whether international librarianship refers to studies of practice between countries, across all borders, through individuals or organizations, through history, or through investigations of theory, practice, education, or standardization worldwide remains problematic.

CRITIQUES OF INTERNATIONAL LIBRARIANSHIP Critiques of international librarianship stem from this very ambiguity as to its meaning. Peter Lohan Jor, for example, questions whether “international librarianship” may in fact simply mean “collections of articles describing aspects of librarianship in countries other than the United States” (Lor, 2011, p. 1). Given that many librarians writing about international librarianship do seem to come from the United States, he may have a point (Groves, 2007). And if true, this would suggest that international librarianship is being defined mainly from an American perspective. As an American librarian working in Canada, I might perhaps broaden this perspective to “North American,” but the point still stands: the ideas surrounding what international librarianship means seem to come mainly from librarians practicing in the developed nations, principally in North America. While this book may in fact be adding another brick to that base, it is hoped that shedding light on this point will encourage librarians from developing nations to realize their own importance in contributing to this literature. Ultimately, a more balanced idea of what “international librarianship” truly means will require a wider international response to produce a more encompassing view.

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM BEYOND NORTH AMERICA This is not to say, however, that librarians from developing nations have not contributed to the literature on international librarianship. On the contrary, librarians from nations both developing and developed outside North

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America have made definite contributions. Mohd,Yusof, and Umar (2014), for example, reported in depth on the building of academic consortia in Malaysia, Al-Ansari (2008) performed a bibliographic analysis on LIS (library and information science) journals in Gulf Cooperation Council countries in the Middle East, and Kanyengo (2009) studied patterns of collection development needs in Zambia, Africa. Librarians from Europe have contributed to the literature of international librarianship as well, as seen in Zmroczek’s (2002) investigation of characteristics of Baltic collections in United Kingdom libraries and Von Jordan-Bonin and Ruch’s (2008) notes on German school librarians’ international work. In other examples of library literature concerning librarianship outside North America, Kendrick (2014) conducted a phenomenological study of Korean academic librarians, and cooperative efforts with librarians in the Caribbean and Latin America have also been explored (Massis, 2002). Australian librarians in particular have had a strong history of contributing to the literature of international librarianship, as evinced by Byrne (2005). Taken together, however, these contributions from non-North American authors still represent a minority of the literature tagged as “international librarianship” in journals that form the commonly accepted core of scholarly library literature. Core journals in LIS include titles such as College & Research Libraries, the Journal of Academic Librarianship, Library Quarterly, Library Trends, and so on, according to studies produced in both North America (Kohl & Davis, 1985; Nixon, 2014) and Australia (Smith & Middleton, 2009). This predominance of North American authors and peer reviewers in an increasingly internationalized library world was noted succinctly in July 2016 in the first editorial by the new College & Research Libraries editor: “While these findings make sense in view of the fact that C&RL is an English language publication, the lack of international representation is thought-provoking when considering the ongoing conversations around the significance of globalization and diversity in higher education” (Kasper, 2016, pp. 406–407).

CORE JOURNALS IN INTERNATIONAL LIBRARIANSHIP Interestingly, a study conducted in 1992 using five different journals as “core journals” specifically in the area of international librarianship yielded much more mixed results in terms of North American authorship (Raptis, 1992). In that study, Raptis looked at author characteristics for the five journals which he defined as best representing “international library and information science

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journals” because they had been in existence for over 5 years, were well known internationally, covered subjects of international interest, were printed outside the United States, and were in English: Information Development (published in England), International Library Review (England), Journal of Librarianship (England), Library Review (England), and Libri (Denmark) (Raptis, 1992, p. 39). Examining authorship characteristics in these journals, he found that 38% of the authors were from Europe, 22% were from America, 21% were from Africa, 16% were from Asia, and 3% were from Australia/New Zealand (Raptis, 1992, p. 43). A set of eight different titles were further identified as representing the “important journals” in international librarianship by Lor in 2011, with the country designation showing where the journal is published: Focus on International Library and Information Work (England), IFLA Journal (England), Information Development: The International Journal for Librarians, Archivists and Information Specialists (England), International Information and Library Review (the Netherlands), Libri: International Journal of Libraries and Information Services (Germany), Library Times International: World News Digest of Library and Information Science (United States), New Library World (England), and World Libraries: An International Journal Focusing on Libraries and Socio-economic Development in Africa, Asia, and Latin America (United States). As can be deduced from their titles, however, not all these journals are scholarly peerreviewed publications, but instead seem to function primarily as vehicles to dispense news about international library activities.

THE ROLE OF ENGLISH Another contributing factor to the small number of articles on international librarianship written by non-North American librarians is likely that all the journals referred to above publish research in English. This of course would seem to privilege native speakers of English, at least in terms of effort of production. Further explanation for the prevalence of native English speakers’ contributions to the literature could arise from semantic reasons: positive and negative connotations of words used to invoke the idea of “international” can resonate differently to native and nonnative speakers of English and can vary by geographic region. A case in point may be the use of the phrase “international students” in the literature of librarianship.This phrase appears most frequently in current library literature, as opposed to the more common use of the phrase

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“foreign students” in previous years. An NGram run in Google Books (http://books.google.com/ngrams) captures the essence of this point very neatly in a visual image. It shows that “international students” appears as a phrase in books digitized in Google with copyrights between 1800 and 2000 mostly frequently in the years between 1980 and 2000. In contrast, the phrase “foreign students” has a much longer history in print, beginning in the early 1800s but peaking around 1960 and declining since then (Fig. 1.1). The Google NGram results are not conclusive proof of sociolinguistic change (Pechenick, Danforth, & Dodds, 2015), but do indicate that the English language has experienced changes over time in books printed in these periods.

Figure 1.1  Google Books Ngram viewer: foreign students, international students.

As can be seen in Fig. 1.1, NGram shows how language use has changed, but it does not tell us why. Although it is beyond the scope of this book to explore in any depth the full semantic change from “foreign students” to “international students,” one personal interpretation of

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generating linguistic labels offered by an English teacher may help illuminate the difference: The first time I became aware of the problem of labeling was when I took my present job 17 years ago, at which time the program was described as English for foreign students, a label I was uncomfortable with. When we call students foreign, what identity are we constructing? Any dictionary will tell us that foreign means “alien,” “strange,” “not natural.” Its other meanings are no less satisfactory. ? They include “inappropriate,” “nonessential,” and “irrelevant.” Furthermore, the label foreign is intimately connected with U.S. ethnocentrism, which is reflected in the canonical literature. In Henry James’s Daisy Miller, for example, an American character refers to an Italian man he meets as a foreigner, even though both men are in Italy at the time! Spack (1997, p. 766)

Librarianship, like teaching, is no stranger to this general phenomenon of language change. This can perhaps be seen most readily in the ongoing complaints about Library of Congress subject headings over the last few decades (McKennon, 2006). A recent complaint about using “illegal aliens” as a library subject heading resulted in the Library of Congress admitting the pejorative nature of this phrase and therefore invoking “noncitizens” and “unauthorized immigration” as new subject headings to replace it (Library of Congress, 2016). What semantics may suggest is that international topics or perspectives could potentially be approached or described differently by native or nonnative English speakers from North America or elsewhere. Librarians as a profession would not be exempt from semantic and sociocultural biases in English expression from any other occupational group.

NORTH AMERICAN CONTENT A final potential factor concerning smaller contributions of non-North American librarians to the literature of international librarianship could be that the major library databases reflect primarily North American content. As the major vehicles for discovering the literature, Library and Information Science Source (from Ebsco and H.W. Wilson), Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA) (Proquest), and Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA) (Ebsco) have large market shares in North America. This could also explain why articles produced in English outside North America are often easier to find than articles written in other languages.This would include, for example, articles written in English by Australian librarians (Becker, 2006), British librarians (Houghton, Knock, & Ladizesky, 2013), and Indian

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librarians (Parvathamma & Reddy, 2010). In contrast, articles written about international librarianship in languages other than English, such as those written by French (Koren, 2008), Hungarian (Sandor & Marton, 2013), and Japanese librarians (Makiko, 2012), are few and far between in these databases. And sheer demographics could potentially play a role in the greater number of articles on international librarianship produced by North American librarians, given the greater numbers of librarians and library schools in this part of the world. On a very practical level, what all this means is that it is not easy to find information on international librarianship produced by librarians outside North America who do not speak English. Critics such as Peter Johan Lor have noted that North Americans produce much of the literature on international librarianship. He stated, by way of cultural observation, that “If you are not American, you must be international” (Lor, 2008, pp. 3–4). As a South African, outside the physical sphere of North America, he delivered a strong statement to practicing librarians. Whether facetiously meant or not, his statement does ring true to me. All librarians should consider who is producing information and where it is coming from before we accept it as the sole way to understand international librarianship. This is an important consideration for librarians everywhere, particularly in light of professional mandates advocating deeper understandings of how information is created, disseminated, stored, and evaluated (Association of College and Research Libraries Information Literacy Standards). International librarianship is an area of practice where we need, as a profession, to inculcate into our own practice those same values we advocate others to follow. IFLA has taken this very stance, publishing guidelines for librarians to advance literacy for meeting people’s needs to “develop the ability to access, assess, and use information in a variety of ways” (IFLA, 2011, p. 3), and it recommends that librarians do this by making use of research in their practice as well.

WEAKNESSES OF LIBRARY LITERATURE Two deficiencies in the literature of international librarianship are worth emphasizing before our tour of library literature comes to an end. First, as noted at the start of this chapter, most of the contributions take the form of descriptive travel narratives. Peer-reviewed and scholarly research articles make up a small sample of the papers written on international librarianship. Why is this a problem? It is mainly because anecdotal evidence alone may not be sufficient to provide deeper insights into a more comprehensive

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understanding of what international librarianship means. Personal experiences are worth sharing in the literature, but it would move the literature forward exponentially to explore the patterns connecting these separate narratives so as to understand international librarianship more fully. The other difficulty is the tone taken by these descriptive reports. Written from a North American perspective, this tone often assumes the form of the more privileged writing about the less privileged. And although it may be well meant on the part of the authors, it may not necessarily be perceived in this way by the recipients. An interesting article that discusses the ramifications of North American libraries donating books to African libraries highlights this very point. Hans Zell provided a summary of his research on this topic in an overview article entitled “Book Donation Programs for Africa:Time for a Reappraisal?” that appeared in the September 2015 issue of International Leads, the ALA IRRT newsletter for which I am serving as co-editor for 2015–17. In this article, Zell states: Numerous studies over the past three decades or more have found that African library services are severely and chronically under-resourced, and have failed to attract adequate government support. Government officials and policy makers in Africa would appear to view book donations from abroad as the most effective and most economical method of providing books to their libraries, at no cost to them. For public libraries they do not seem to see a need to provide them with book acquisitions budgets, because their national library services are happy to receive substantial, ongoing donations from book aid organizations in the countries of the North. This in turn has created a culture of dependency on overseas book donation programs, as well as other external assistance. Zell (2015, p. 8)

Beyond the provocative words, Zell presents evidence to back up his claims. It is worth noting that he has something of an insider perspective on libraries in Africa, having lived and worked there for a number of years and been long involved in the book publishing trade. Regardless of whether readers of this book agree or disagree with his conclusions, Zell raises an interesting point and encourages fuller consideration of the perspective of the receivers in developing nations as well as those of donors in developed nations. The idea of “noblesse oblige,” the notion that the more privileged have the duty to help the less privileged, can come with a hefty dose of paternalism as well, which is why that phrase is now out of vogue. Its precepts, however, could potentially still be at work if librarians engaged in international humanitarian work abroad are not aware of its potential presence, all of which points to the need to develop a fuller understanding of what international librarianship means beyond North America.

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So where does this leave us in understanding the literature of international librarianship? Its lack of an agreed-upon meaning causes confusion for both practitioners and researchers in exactly what it entails. Its production by North American librarians in English-language journals dominates the scholarly conversation surrounding it. Its descriptive nature and reliance on anecdotes and travel narratives point to a lack of academic rigor and deeper understanding of patterns of meaning potentially living beneath this superficial surface. Its reliance on principles of “noblesse oblige” likewise skew its understanding beyond the perspective of well-intentioned but perhaps not fully encompassing global perspectives. These shortcomings in the literature, however, represent opportunities as well. Gaps can offer opportunities for librarians everywhere to contribute to a shared and growing knowledge base on international librarianship. An interesting recent column in College & Research Libraries News offers a glimpse at one such potential gap by noting that, "Librarians practicing in U.S. higher education abroad should not be viewed as in the margins of our professional community, but as representatives of the future" (Salaz, 2016, p. 554). This statement seems to imply that librarians working abroad, often viewed as the epitome of international librarianship practice, may often feel marginalized or overlooked by other librarians perhaps working in more technologically developed North American settings. If so, this would offer an excellent gap to explore in the literature of international librarianship.This book is a further attempt to add to potential gaps in that knowledge base. Where I personally see a particular need for further exploration is the study of home librarianship as being connected to international librarianship. None of the literature reviewed in this section has taken that perspective. While I readily acknowledge my own bias as a North American librarian and native English speaker, I do believe an investigation of potential connections between international librarianship as construed and potentially practiced both at home and abroad is worth a deeper look. To that end, I would like to turn the page on this discussion of the literature, offer my own personal definition of international librarianship, and look briefly to the literature of higher education to ground this current investigation.

My Personal Definition of International Librarianship In this book, I offer my own definition of international librarianship as “one profession, many communities, connecting to each other to promote learning globally and locally.” I put forward this personalized definition because it

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holds the most meaning for me based on my individual background, interests, and practice of librarianship. I believe that Sari Feldman has offered a good starting point for our current understanding of international librarianship, with a nod to common practices in different places. I also believe that Gerald Leitner rightly ties global, regional, and local library efforts together. For my own part, I underscore the element of connecting because I see it as both a logical and a needed way to emphasize the international nature of the work we do. And I am adding the further element of promoting learning because it serves as the reason for the profession of librarianship to exist. My view of promoting learning stems from the concept of libraries as playing a fundamental role in developing and maintaining a reading culture, in research and education, in the preservation of human memory and the advancement of society. Their unique missions respect the individual’s right to develop their intellect through reading, learning and research, whatever their circumstances. Cunnane (personal communication 2016)

Viewing learning as part of this broader context emphasizes its importance to me. Learning serves a bigger purpose than building and maintaining collections; it makes them meaningful for the people who use them. My personal definition of international librarianship is further rooted in an understanding of internationalization in higher education. I see international librarianship as sprouting from this literature, rather than existing as a completely separate area of study. By its very nature, the literature of international higher education offers librarians a broader base for understanding the practices and meanings of international librarianship, and is therefore worth a quick consideration.

LITERATURE OF INTERNATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION The three aspects of international higher education literature that I see as most helpful for librarians to be aware of are internationalization at home, study abroad, and transnational higher education. Internationalization in the literature of higher education has been viewed in many ways by many practitioners, much like the literature of international librarianship. Academic librarianship, in particular, much like higher education in general, has lately been consumed with investigations of the very concept of internationalization (Bordonaro, 2013; Click, Wiley, & Houlihan, 2017; Witt, Kutner, & Cooper, 2015). One important aspect of internationalization coming from higher education that may add further depth to the study of internationalization in all types of libraries and to the study and practice of international librarianship is that of internationalization at home.The Canadian

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Bureau for International Education defines internationalization at home as “activities which promote an international perspective in curricular, co-curricular or extra-curricular activities which do not necessitate student travel abroad outside the home institution country” (CBIE, 2016, p. 1).The literature of internationalization at home can offer librarians a heightened appreciation of the importance of international perspectives in home settings, through its emphasis on internationalizing the curriculum and promoting global citizenship in home settings as well as abroad. Soria and Troisi, for example, state that: As colleges and universities seek to further internationalize their campuses, the relationships observed in this study suggest that internationalization at home efforts can be valuable in promoting students’ development of GII [global, international, and intercultural] competencies. All students can potentially benefit from increased global and internationalized efforts at home—including interactions with international students and participation in curricular and cocurricular global/international activities. Soria and Troisi (2014, p. 276)

The “internationalization at home” movement alluded to in Soria and Troisi’s article has had a place in the literature of higher education since at least the 1990s (Nilsson, 1999, 2000; Osfield, 2008; Otten, 2000; Paige, 2003). It has been gaining attention ever since then as more educators seek to instill competencies of good global citizenship into coursework students complete at home institutions for their local degrees.This potentially affords libraries a way to participate in these initiatives in home settings as well. Study-abroad literature in higher education offers another avenue for better understanding of international librarianship, by emphasizing the role of intercultural competence and its ongoing development in home settings after studyabroad programs end. Nunan (2006, p. 8), for example, conducted an investigation examining the effects of study abroad on students 10–15 years after their studyabroad experiences and found lasting effects. “Specifically the major positive outcomes appear to be: • increased personal development and intercultural competence [emphasis mine] • enhanced employability and skills for careers; • high level of continued contact and international networking; • enhanced interest in further study”. Wilbur (2016, p. 59) further underscores a connection between study abroad and gains in intercultural competence by claiming that “intercultural competence developed through reflective inquiry is maintained and often deepened over time” after a study-abroad program has ended. Libraries could potentially find a role to play in extending intercultural competence development through providing support and learning opportunities to study-abroad participants both before and after their experiences abroad.

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And transnational education offers a further way to stretch our understanding of international librarianship. Transnational education is a subset of international education. It refers to students and academic faculty and staff engaged in study and work abroad at international campuses, twinned campuses, international joint degree programs, or online through distance courses that cross borders (Knight, 2016). The determining feature of transnational education is that the education is a joint venture between home campuses and campuses abroad. This collaborative joint nature can lend another useful perspective to librarians. In an investigation of British students studying abroad, Bartram (2013, p. 5) found there were support needs expressed by students who could be considered transnational: “The findings reveal a blend of academic, practical, and socioemotional needs, alongside a predominant reliance on self-direction and proactive social participation as strategies for addressing them,” and he noted explicitly that “library services” function as an “academic support mechanism” (Bartram, 2013, p. 7).This literature can offer librarians a broadened understanding of services and spaces both home and abroad that can nurture international perspectives. It can also potentially offer a deeper understanding of institutional home support needed for both domestic students engaged in study abroad and students from abroad studying in our home institutions. The literature of international higher education, encompassing ideas of “internationalization at home,” global citizenship, the development of intercultural awareness, and transnational support, offers librarians a rich wealth of material to draw from. By placing this book about international librarianship into this context of background literature, it is hoped that practicing librarians everywhere can draw inspiration and deeper understanding of the contributions we can make in our own profession toward internationalization. In so doing, we will also be helping to define “international librarianship” ourselves.

SUMMARY This first chapter has sought to lay out the landscape of international librarianship for practicing librarians. It seeks to ground the study of international librarianship in the literature of librarianship. It offers various perspectives on this literature, including its general North American slant, its weaknesses, what journals may be said to comprise its core, and some thoughts on the role of English in its production and dissemination. It also offers my personal definition of what international librarianship means to me as a starting

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point for its consideration in this book. Finally, it evokes the literature of higher education as another beginning point to broaden our understanding of what international librarianship can potentially be and how it might be practiced.

REFERENCES Agee, J. (2013). Invitation for contributions. Journal of Library Administration, 52(2–3), 167–168. Al-Ansari, H. H. (2008). Library and information science literature on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries: A bibliographic analysis. Technical Services Quarterly, 25(3), 21–34. Barr-Walker, J. (2013). Start-up library: My experience at NYU Abu Dhabi. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 20, 224–231. Bartram, B. (2013). “Brits abroad”: The perceived support needs of U.K. learners studying in higher education overseas. Journal of Studies in International Education, 17(1), 5–18. Becker, L. K.W. (2006). Globalisation and internationalisation: Models and patterns of change for Australian academic librarians. Australian Academic & Research Librarians, 37(4), 282–298. Bliss, N. J. (1993). The emergence of international librarianship as a field. Libri, 43(1), 39–52. Bordonaro, K. (2013). Internationalization and the North American library. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. Byrne, A. (2005). Librarians abroad: Australian librarianship in the world. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 36(3), 111–124. Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE). (2016). Canada’s education abroad lexicon. Available from http://cbie.ca/media/policy-statements/canadas-education-abroadlexicon/. Chu, C. M., Ford, B. J., Witt, S. W., Lau, J., & Scheeder, D. (2016). Your global professional voice: Engage with IFLA in the United States and beyond. College & Research Libraries News, 77(5), 239–242. Click, A. B., Wiley, C. W., & Houlihan, M. (2017). The internationalization of the academic library: A systematic review of 25 years of literature on international students. College & Research Libraries, 78(3), 328–358. Coombs, J. (2013). Delivering information literacy support internationally: A report of a visit to the University of Nottingham’s Overseas Campuses. Journal of Information Literacy, 7(1), 90–92. Available from http://ojs.lboro.ac.uk/ojs/index.php/JIL/article/view/ PRJ-V7-I1-2013-4/1810. Feldman, S. (2015). One profession, many communities. American Libraries, International Supplement. Available from http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2015/09/ifla15_final.pdf. Groves, D. (2007). Practicing librarianship around the world. Kentucky Libraries, 71(4), 4–7. Gyeszly, S. D. (2010). Qatar’s Education City’s university libraries: Patrons, collections, and services. Collection Building, 29(3), 84–90. Houghton, L., Knock, D., & Ladizesky, K. (2013). Past and present advances in the sphere of international librarianship in the UK. Focus on International Library and Information Work, 44(3), 111–112. IFLA. (2011). Using research to promote literacy and reading in libraries: Guidelines for librarians IFLA Professional Reports No. 125. Available from http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/hq/ publications/professional-report/125.pdf.

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Kanyengo, C. W. (2009). Meeting collection development needs in resource poor settings: the University of Zambia Medical Library experience. Collection Building, 28(1), 26–30. Kasper, W. A. (2016). Editorial: An introduction. College & Research Libraries, 77(4), 406–409. Available from http://crl.acrl.org/content/77/4/406.full.pdf+html. Kendrick, K. D. (2014). The experience of Korean academic librarianship: A phenomenological study. IFLA Journal, 40(4), 267–279. Knight, J. (2016). Transnational education remodeled: Toward a common TNE framework and definitions. Journal of Studies in International Education, 20(1), 34–47. Kohl, D. F., & Davis, C. H. (1985). Ratings of journals by ARL library directors and deans of library and information science schools. College & Research Libraries, 46(1), 40–47. Koren, M. (2008). Associations professionnelles et coopération européenne. Bulletin des Bibliotheques de France, 27(1), 25–33. Krzys, R., Litton, G., & Hewit, A. (1983). World librarianship: A comparative study. New York: Marcel Dekker. Liang, M. (2015). Experiences of an international librarian. Focus on International Library & Information Work, 46, 4–7. Library of Congress Executive Summary. (2016). Library of congress to cancel the subject heading “illegal aliens”. Available from http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/illegal-aliens-decision.pdf. Lor, P. J. (2008). Critical reflections on international librarianship. Mousaion, 26(1), 1–15. Lor, P. J. (2011). International and comparative librarianship. Available from http://peterlor.com/ international-comparative-librarianship/. Makiko, M. (2012). Toward the global harmonization of library and information professionals in Japan. Journal of Information Processing & Management, 54(10), 611–621. Massis, B. E. (2002). Planning for international library exchange and cooperation: the IFLA/ SEFLIN International Summit on Library Cooperation in the Americas. Resource Sharing & Information Networks, 16(2), 239–253. McKennon, E. (2006). Importing hegemony: Library information systems and U.S. hegemony in Canada and Latin America. Radical History Review, 95, 45–69. Mohd, H., Yusof, R., & Umer, R. (2014). Initiatives towards formation of academic library consortium in Malaysia. Library Management, 35(1/2), 102–110. Nilsson, B. (1999). Internationalisation at home—Theory and praxis. EAIE Forum, 12. Nilsson, B. (2000). Internationalising the curriculum. In P. Crowther, M. Joris, M. Otten, B. Nilsson, H. Teekens, & B. Wächter (Eds.), Internationalisation at home: A position paper (pp. 21–27). Amsterdam, Netherlands: European Association for International Education, Drukkerij Raddraaier. Nixon, J. M. (2014). Core journals in library and information science: Developing a methodology for ranking LIS journals. College & Research Libraries, 75(1), 66–90. Nunan, P. (2006). An exploration of the long term effects of student exchange experiences. In Perth, Australia: IDP Australian international education conference Available from http://aiec.idp.com/uploads/pdf/Nunan%20(Paper)%20Thurs%200900%20 MR5.pdf. Osfield, K. J. (2008). Internationalization of student affairs and services: An emerging global perspective. Washington, DC: NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education). Otten, M. (2000). Impact of cultural diversity at home. In P. Crowther, M. Joris, M. Otten, B. Nilsson, H. Teekens, & B. Wächter (Eds.), Internationalisation at home: A position paper (pp. 15–20). Amsterdam, Netherlands: European Association for International Education, Drukkerij Raddraaier. Paige, R. M. (2003). The American case: The University of Minnesota. Journal of Studies in International Education, 7(1), 52–63. Parker, J. S. (1974). International librarianship – a reconnaissance. Journal of Librarianship, 6(4), 219–232.

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Parvathamma, N., & Reddy, S. (2010). Information resources and services in public librarians in Gulbarga district, Karnataka state, India: Users’ perspectives. SRELS Journal of Information Management, 47(3), 307–315. Pechenick, E. A., Danforth, C. M., & Dodds, P. S. (2015). Characterizing the Google Books corpus: Strong limits to inferences of socio-cultural and linguistic evolution. PLoS One, 10(10). Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0137041. Phillips, L. S., & Holvoet, K. G. (2017). Taking your MLIS abroad: Getting and succeeding in an international library job. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited. Raptis, P. (1992). Authorship characteristics in five international library science journals. Libri, 42(1), 35–52. Ryan, M. (2015). Promoting global understanding. Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 15(3), 387–388. Salaz, A. M., Chang, K., Houlihan, M., & Birch, S. (2016).The future of U.S. university international branch campus libraries: Challenges and opportunities. College & Research Libraries News, 77(11), 551–554. Sandor, S., & Marton, N. (2013). Napjaink könyvtári világának aktuális kérdései. (Trends in Hungarian and international librarianship). Konyvtari Figyelo (Library Review), 23(3), 564–570. Smith, K., & Middleton, M. (2009). Australian library & information studies (LIS) researchers ranking of LIS journals. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 40(1), 1–21. Soria, K. M., & Troisi, J. (2014). Internationalization at home alternatives to study abroad: Implications for students’ development of global, international, and intercultural competencies. Journal of Studies in International Education, 18(3), 261–280. Spack, R. (1997). The rhetorical construction of multilingual students. TESOL Quarterly, 31(4), 765–774. Stewart, M. (2006). Study tour of UK health information facilities. Focus on International Library & Information Work, 37(3), 85–89. Stueart, R. D. (2007). International librarianship: A basic guide to global knowledge access. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. Von Jordan-Bonin, E., & Ruch, H. (2008). Experten auf Welt-Tournee [Experts on a World Tour]. BuB: Forum Bibliothek und Information, 60(9), 614. Wilbur, G. (2016). The staying power of intercultural learning through reflective inquiry. Reflective Practice, 17(1/2), 59–71. Witt, S. (2014). Agents of change: The rise of international librarianship and the age of globalization. Library Trends, 62(3), 504–518. Available from https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/ library_trends/v062/62.3.witt.html. Witt, S. W., Kutner, L., & Cooper, L. (2015). Mapping academic library contributions to campus internationalization. College & Research Libraries, 76(5), 587–608. Zell, H. (2015). Book donation programmes for Africa: Time for a reappraisal? International Leads, 29(3), 8–10. Zmroczek, J. (2002). Baltic collections in the United Kingdom: Past, present, and future. Slavic & East European Information Resources, 3(2–3), 231–246.

CHAPTER 2

Current Practices in International Librarianship A deeper understanding of international librarianship, as with many aspects of librarianship, can come from a knowledge of accepted professional practices. Investigating the literature of international librarianship, as we did in Chapter 1, offers an excellent way to explore ideas connected to the topic. A knowledge of the literature, however, does not represent the only way to look at and understand international librarianship. Another way to look at the topic to understand it better is to investigate how it is commonly practiced.This chapter looks at established professional practices to explore how international librarianship can be more deeply understood or engaged in by practicing librarians in their day-to-day work. The intent of this chapter is to help develop an understanding of how international librarianship can function by considering various practices that can be found in documents online. These documents are not meant to be seen as pure and unadulterated exemplars of international librarianship; instead, their purpose is to serve as possible examples of international librarianship in practice.

PRACTICES FROM DOCUMENTS The established professional practices considered in this chapter come from published or freely available documents, policies, and programs posted online or printed through the auspices of professional associations. Documents of professional practice considered here also come from conferences, guidelines, workshops, and collections information made publicly available to the practicing community of librarians worldwide. Samples of these various types of professional documents are briefly offered, followed by a short document analysis suggesting themes arising from these documents. The documents describing and displaying practices that could be considered forms of international librarianship are grouped into three general categories: professional support and services, general librarianship, and intriguing examples. Professional support and services include practices International Librarianship at Home and Abroad ISBN 978-0-08-101896-5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101896-5.00002-8

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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found in documents from professional library organizations, and standards and guidelines produced by these organizations. This category also includes programs, policies, and workshops designed to support and develop aspects of international librarianship, along with graduate education courses on international librarianship designed for new librarians. The section on general librarianship offers further examples of documented practices used in many libraries, such as collections development, resource sharing, and preservation, that could include elements of international librarianship as well. And the last section offers some unique examples of intriguing practices found in documents.These “intriguing” examples reflect aspects of international librarianship that might fall out of the ordinary or more general types of work noted earlier. They include multilingual cataloging, sister libraries, Librarians without Borders/Better World Books, and public library work with new immigrants and refugees.

Professional Support and Services Professional Associations Many professional library associations support the practice of international librarianship. Among them are associations that represent librarians globally or regionally across nations, such as the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), the American Library Association (ALA), the Association of Caribbean University and Research Libraries, the Chartered Institute of Information Professionals in the United Kingdom, and the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations. Other professional associations represent librarians around the world who are engaged in particular types of librarianship, such as the Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa, the European Network for School Libraries and Information Literacy, the Special Libraries Association, the International Council on Archives, the International Association of School Libraries, and the International Association of Music Libraries. Also, of course, the national library associations of individual countries can support international librarianship practice. Examples of these organizations include the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), the Brazil Federation Librarians Association, the Belarusian Library Association, the Finnish Library Association, the German Library Association, the Hong Kong Library Association, the Indian Library Association, the Serbian Library Association, and the Uganda Library Association, among many, many others.

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Readers interested in a fuller list of library associations worldwide that represent national, regional, and international library organizations, as well as different types of libraries worldwide, can consult the “Library associations around the world” page produced by the ALA (http://www.ala.org/ offices/iro/intlassocorgconf/libraryassociations). IFLA is perhaps the best-known international library organization for most practicing librarians, with its annual conferences, publications, continuing education programs, and advocacy. It supports international librarianship in its “Who we are” statement by claiming its status as the premier worldwide organization representing libraries and librarianship: “The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It is the global voice of the library and information profession.” This statement of support for the work of librarians around the world underscores the importance of international librarianship. Promoting international activities is another practice of professional library organizations. For example, the ALA International Relations Round Table states that: [Our mission is] To promote interest in library issues and librarianship worldwide; to help coordinate international activities within the American Library Association, serving as a liaison between the International Relations Committee and those members of the Association interested in international relations; to develop programs and activities which further the international objectives of ALA; and to provide hospitality and information to visitors from abroad. Available online at http://www.ala.org/irrt/

Sponsoring specific events to recognize the work of international librarians is a practice of professional library organizations. ALIA, for example, sponsors an “international special librarian’s day” (details available online at https://www.alia.org.au/events/14183/international-special-librariansday).And drawing attention to important international workshops is another practice that professional library organizations can use to support international librarianship. The Ghana Library Association, for example, draws its members’ attention to workshops, such as one on “the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 on the Africa we want” (http://www.gla-net.org/index.php/ general-informations). Encouraging the sharing of worldwide information among practicing librarians and their patrons is also an example of professional library association practice that could be construed as a form of international

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librarianship. The International Association of Law Libraries, for example, states that it “supports and encourages the development of national and international legal information policies and promotes free access to legal information on a worldwide basis through policy statements and scholarship” (http://iall.org/about-iall-2/mission-statement/). Further examples of international librarianship from professional associations include the reporting of new research, and practice tied to it, through columns such as “Your global professional voice” (http://crln.acrl. org/content/77/5/239.full). Professional library associations can also be partners in dissemination about practice; an example is the press release announcing “ACRL becomes key dissemination partner for the NMC Horizon Report” with Swiss and German academic associations (http:// www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2016/04/acrl-becomes-keydissemination-partner-nmc-horizon-report-library-edition). And professional associations can actively solicit diversity in membership to become more representative of a body of international librarians: an example is the ALA international membership brochure for non-American librarians (http://www.ala.org/membership/sites/ala.org.membership/files/ content/docsfor member ship/FY2016/Member ship_Brochure_ International.pdf). Programs Professional programs exist throughout the library world and can represent the practice of international librarianship. Many exist to connect librarians from one part of the world to those from other parts. One well-known program is the Mortensen Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois. Its stated purpose is to “strengthen international ties among libraries and librarians worldwide for the promotion of international education, understanding, and peace,” and it does this through professional development programs such as workshops, lectures, and classes (http://www.library.illinois.edu/mortenson/about/index.html). Other visitor programs exist to introduce librarians from different parts of the world to North American library practices and vice versa. An example of this approach is the BIB (Berufsverband Information Bibliothek)–ALA German–US Librarian Exchange Program (http://www.ala.org/offices/iro/ iroactivities/bib-ala_exchange), which financially supports practicing librarians wishing to attend each other’s annual national library conferences. Online programs support the practice of international librarianship by offering socialization and personal connection opportunities between

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librarians in different countries. The International Librarians Network, for example, is a virtual meeting place begun in Australia that pairs practicing librarians from different countries together in a sort of penpal exchange setup (http://interlibnet.org/). Programs also exist to send librarians out from the developed world to build and promote libraries in the developing world. This is librarian– community support, not necessarily librarian–librarian support such as the programs mentioned above. However, these community development programs can also be seen as a form of international librarianship practice, because they develop the knowledge of librarians about communities outside their own. An example is the Global Libraries Program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (http://www.gatesfoundation.org/WhatWe-Do/Global-Development/Global-Libraries). Programs specialized to a particular part of the world are a noteworthy way to practice international librarianship.The American–Bulgarian Library Project from Colorado, for example, had a number of separate American– Bulgarian librarian partnership projects within its scope and gave many librarians the opportunity to experience librarianship internationally (https://ilceig.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/report-for-the-us-statedepartment-on-able-project.pdf). Policies Policies to encourage networking between librarians from different countries can be viewed as a way to encourage the practice of international librarianship. They include policies to support travel and research abroad, as well as visits to home institutions. Examples include the ALA International Relations Office’s support of delegations to international book fairs (http:// www.ala.org/offices/iro) and the Fulbright Program’s policies to support practicing librarians conducting research activities abroad (http://www. cies.org/program/core-fulbright-us-scholar-program). Other policies originate at individual institutions, such as Ryerson University’s policies to support librarians visiting its campus in Canada (http://www.ryerson.ca/ content/dam/teaching/policies/docs/Visiting_Prof_and_Librarian_ Procedures_Nov_2006.pdf). Conferences Annual events such as the ALA conference (http://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/ala-upcoming-annual-conferences-midwinter-meetings) and the IFLA conference (http://www.ifla.org/annual-conference) are

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obvious examples of avenues for practicing librarians to learn about and engage in various aspects of international librarianship. The European Conference on Information Literacy held in Talinn, Estonia, in October 2015 is another example of an international library conference, but one that focused on one specific aspect of librarianship, namely information literacy. Other examples include digital library conferences aimed at worldwide audiences of librarians, such as Library 2.0 (http://www. library20.com/classroom), and international education conferences aimed at library science researchers but open to practitioners, such as the Athens Institute for Education and Research conference (http://www.atiner.gr/ library). Standards and Guidelines Standards and guidelines published by library associations and organizations can be a way to see the practice of international librarianship. IFLA’s Statement of International Cataloging Principles, for example, offers librarians everywhere a common set of practices to refer to (http://www.ifla. org/files/assets/cataloguing/icp/icp_2009-en.pdf). The School Library Association, in a similar fashion, offers International Standards for School Libraries (http://www.sla.org.uk/international-standards-for-schoollibraries.php). Other sets of guidelines and standards can potentially be seen as the practice of international librarianship if practice includes internationalization at home. The Reference and User Services Association, for example, has published guidelines for the collection of materials in other languages in American libraries. These “Guidelines for the development and promotion of multilingual collections and services” (http://www. ala.org/rusa/resources/guidelines/guidemultilingual) could serve to internationalize the practice of librarianship at home by supporting non–English-speaking users. Likewise, the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) offers guidelines on “Diversity standards: Cultural competency for academic libraries” (http://www.ala.org/acrl/ standards/diversity) that could potentially speak to the practice of international librarianship at home. Workshops Professional development workshops and webinars are another way that librarians can engage in the practice of international librarianship.While the

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Mortensen Center mentioned earlier has a series of formal workshops for librarians from around the world, other workshops and webinars offer similar opportunities to practicing librarians on smaller scales. For example, the Education Institute, a Canadian organization affiliated with the Ontario Library Association, offers online workshops like “Engaging diverse communities”(https://www.thepartnership.ca/WEB/PARTNERSHIP/ Education_Institute/Event_Detail.aspx?WebsiteKey=49eb833d-4b234429-949e-216666246bc4&EventKey=EIW160407) to librarians working with many diverse populations, including immigrants and newcomers, in their home libraries. The private company webinar “Preparing the next generation of African development volunteers” (https://pages.devex.com/) is another example of a webinar that could potentially support the practice of international librarianship as well.

Library Science Education Graduate education programs for library science deserve a place in a document analysis of practices of international librarianship, because their existence serves as the basis from which practice could potentially spring or be studied. Coursework on international librarianship should define the practice and understanding of this field of library work. The first example is the course LIS 598: “International Librarianship – Issues and Innovations” form the School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alberta, 2011 has made its course outline available online at https://www.ualberta.ca/education/departments/school-of-library-andinformation-studies/courses/on-campus-graduate-courses/lis-598international-librarianship.

A brief survey of its contents offers the following information Course Goal The goal of this course is to provide students with a broad understanding of library development and services throughout the world. Students will learn the issues and problems facing the development of libraries within their socioeconomic and cultural contexts and become acquainted with the successes and/or failures of various approaches to these issues. As North American librarianship is addressed in other Studies in Library and Information Science courses, most attention will be given to library development in other regions. Continued

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A brief survey of its contents offers the following information—cont’d Course Objectives Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: • identify the major trends in the provision of library and information services in the aforementioned regions and discuss the specific issues facing libraries, library services, and the library profession in developed, lesser, and least developed countries within their cultural contexts • describe the various library and information training approaches and accreditation systems in different countries and regions • explain the role and existence of national libraries in various countries • describe the role and activities of national, regional, and international library associations • describe the effects on libraries and library services in areas where there is war; natural disaster; unstable governance; low levels of literacy; little indigenous publishing; little or no monetary assistance; lack of foreign currency for purchase of materials; lack of training; censorship and other intellectual freedom challenges, etc. • propose possible solutions and assistance where the aforementioned occurs • discuss the role of information and access (or lack thereof ) to information and development • discuss the role of international aid organizations and intergovernmental aid/assistance • identify the existing programs of international aid organizations and intergovernmental assistance, and discuss the pros and cons of these methods of assistance • access various internet sites concerned with the aforementioned issues, associations, etc. • identify the key international journals of librarianship.

Content

• Introduction to the course. • What is international librarianship? Why do we study it? • The skills and methods involved in the study of international librarianship. •  Perspectives on library development—case studies (United Kingdom, European Union, Russia, anglophone Africa). • Training for librarianship. • War and natural disaster. • Information for development; the role of donors and international aid; the “digital divide,” etc. • Innovations. • Library associations. • Working internationally.

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The practice of international librarianship to be found in this course outline suggests that its different facets include the study of how librarianship is practiced in different parts of the world as well as a consideration of the economic and political environments in which these libraries operate. Another example of a graduate course is LIS 585 on international librarianship offered by the University of Illinois at Urbana (http://courseweb. ischool.illinois.edu/∼weech/585/585-14Syllabus.htm). Its content summary states: COURSE CATALOG DESCRIPTION: Focuses on International Librarianship (how librarians communicate on international issues) and how that differs from comparative librarianship (the comparative study of library services in specific contexts). Examines how concepts such as “one-world” and “free flow of information” are valid in the international information arena; the importance of internationalizing library education; the role of international information agencies and the need for formulating information policies. Local and regional issues relating to library and information science are studied in the context of global issues.

The practice of international librarianship found in this course description seems to emphasize its difference from comparative librarianship and the role of information transfer. The last example of a graduate education course is LIS 7850 on international and comparative librarianship from Wayne State University (available at http://slis.wayne.edu/profiles/7850-a.pdf ). Its content is described through its “rationale for inclusion in the program”: International librarianship focuses on the role of information in society, and the methods of its acquisition, processing, retrieval, and dissemination across national boundaries by means of international library cooperation through the formulation and development of common standards, policies, and practices. Comparative librarianship studies library systems within the context of geographical areas, regions, or individual countries in order to improve libraries and library services throughout the world. This course is a comparison of American and foreign library and information systems and services by placing them within various socio-economic, educational, and cultural contexts. The course addresses the investigation of fundamental concepts concerning international communication and cooperation in library and information science as a global profession through the study of international professional organizations and associations, international programs, inter-governmental and non-governmental agencies in the information field that are working together to achieve library development worldwide. The course will highlight national differences in library and information science philosophy, objectives, practices, and policies as well as local endeavors that led to the growth of librarianship in its global dimensions in the past two centuries.

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The rationale for this course appears to stress the various forms that information takes in libraries at both a theoretical level and in a comparison between regions. As can be seen from just these three examples, the graduate study of international librarianship takes different forms in different library school programs. The contents that the different courses cover also offer practicing librarians a window into different ways that international librarianship can potentially be conceived of and put into practice.

General Librarianship Collections Building collections and resource sharing are bulwarks of library practice.Their worldwide use offers strong support for practicing librarians to learn about and participate in international librarianship. The move to place important collections online further underscores the international aspect of building and sharing these resources across libraries throughout the world. Many methods exist to promote such collections, among them the Center for Research Libraries Global Resources Network.This group describes itself in the following way: The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) is an international consortium of university, college, and independent research libraries. Founded in 1949, CRL supports original research and inspired teaching in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences by preserving and making available to scholars a wealth of rare and uncommon primary source materials from all world regions http://www.crl.edu/about

Other major collections also see themselves as international providers of information that librarians can connect patrons to around the world. Some of these collections are provided by library organizations such as the CRL, but others are offered by nonlibrary providers although they can still be used by librarians everywhere. Library and research services offered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), for example, are described as “a public resource offering over 140,000 documents on international humanitarian law, humanitarian work and ICRC activities. The documents take a range of forms – books, periodicals, videos, photos and CD-ROMs” (https://www.icrc.org/en/library-and-research-services). Many national and regional libraries serve worldwide audiences and can be used by librarians all over the world. The Qatar Digital Library Portal, for example, originating at the Qatar National Library, offers free access to people everywhere interested in the history and heritage of the region (http://www.qdl.qa/en/about).The National Library of France, in another example, offers access to the Francophone Digital Network,

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comprising collections from 25 different French-speaking nations (http:// www.bnf.fr/en/collections_and_services/international_digital_libraries_ en/a.francophone_digital_network_en.html). Resource sharing has of course been standard practice in libraries for many years in the form of interlibrary loans. In its intended reach, however, it could also be seen as international librarianship if it involves transferring material between libraries in different countries. This may be more common in crossing borders like that between Canada and the United States, but it nonetheless supports an international way of practicing librarianship. Collection building between libraries in different parts of the world is another practice that could be seen as international librarianship. The Taiwan Resource Center for Chinese Studies, for example, has a publication exchange program with “more than 600 academic institutions in more than 80 countries”(https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2015/10/06/ala-honorsinternational-innovators/). Preservation The preservation of materials in print format has long been a function of libraries in their role as cultural stewards. In recent years, however, digital preservation has loomed larger as formats of information online change over time. International librarianship faces this challenge as well. Cooperative projects are now being undertaken in libraries worldwide to examine the issue, explore possible strategies, and establish procedures for remedies. One example of such a project with an international scope is the UNESCO Persist program (https://www.unesco.nl/artikel/unesco-digital-roadmapkicks-under-name-persist). This project considers not only how and why digital preservation is necessary and feasible, but also considers other aspects of digitization such as intellectual property rights and copyright concerns. Digital sustainability is a global issue, and this is one more area where international librarianship can be found. All these examples reflect general areas of librarianship and aspects of professional development within its practice. Some particular practices, however, are worth highlighting separately below. My reason for doing this is to draw attention to them specifically as more explicit examples of unique or unusual practices of international librarianship.

Intriguing Examples Multilingual Cataloging The sharing of cataloging practices across languages could be another manifestation of international librarianship in practice. As cataloging moves from

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Anglo-American standards into the 21st century, the international aspect of cataloging work may become more apparent. The Resource Description and Access (RDA) Toolkit, for example, advertises itself as “the global standard” for RDA in the current era (http://www.rdatoolkit.org). And RDA has given rise to initiatives like the “multilingual Jane-athon” as a way to promote a participatory culture of what is billed as multilingual and multicultural shared cataloging (http://tblc.org/events/8487/). Sister Libraries Partnership between libraries in different countries through twinned cities is another potential practice of international librarianship. These partnerships often spring from government entities or other municipal sources, rather than from solo library efforts. As such, library publication exchanges and librarian visits may occur within a broader framework of city-to-city programming. The cities of Indianapolis, Illinois, and Cologne, Germany, for example, recently included a librarian exchange as part of their sistercity relationship (http://www.indypl.org/about/news/2013/indy-librarywelcomes-german-librarian-sister-city-staff-exchange/). The ALA Sister Library Initiative program is another avenue for librarians interested in finding international partners directly (http://wikis.ala.org/sisterlibraries/index.php/ALA_/_IRRT_Sister_Library_Initiative). Librarians Without Borders/Better World Books These bodies offer a direct way for librarians to become involved in international library work both at home and abroad. Librarians without Borders describes its work as responding to the “vital need for books, culture, and information in developing regions” (http://www.librarieswithoutborders. org/index.php/libraries-without-borders/about-us/history-and-values), and offers multiple ways for librarians to become involved in this work through donations, book drives, or becoming a partner. Other book donation venues such as Better World Books (http://www.betterworldbooks.com/) exist, in which librarians can potentially contribute to international library needs. Whether through a voluntary organization such as Librarians without Borders or a commercial enterprise like Better World Books, librarians may find worldwide book donation programs to be a type of international library work. Public Library Work With New Immigrants and Refugees As indicated in the background literature, the idea of internationalization at home could be an additional avenue for practicing international

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librarianship. If so, public libraries may be in the forefront of offering ways for librarians to participate in their home library settings. Many public libraries offer examples of programming to community groups who are newly arrived from other parts of the world. The Greenburgh Public Library in Westchester County, New York, for example, has a burgeoning population of Spanish speakers. This library has developed an extensive array of services to offer this new immigrant group, such as English lessons, bilingual story hours, and a Spanish book club (http://www.greenburghlibrary.org/libraryservices/adults/latino-services-2/). Other public libraries have become involved in language and citizenship classes, such as the Toronto Public Library(http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/programs-and-classes/ categories/newcomer-esl-programs.jsp). Still other public libraries serve as a gateway to many community immigrant services, such as the Queen’s Library in New York (http:// www.queenslibrary.org/services/community-information/communityresources-database). And other public libraries offer collections in languages other than English, as well as databases and tools for language learning, such as the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library in Buffalo, New York (http:// www.buffalolib.org/content/subject-guides/languages). All these ways suggest multiple opportunities for practicing librarians potentially to become involved in international library work in their home settings.

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS As noted at the start of this chapter, all these selected examples of ways that international librarianship could be practiced can be found in many places online. The documents, policy statements, shared standards, open collections, and public practices offer myriad opportunities for practicing librarians to become involved in working in various sorts of international capacities. It should also be noted that these examples are only a few of many, many different types of opportunities that can be researched, considered, and shared among practicing librarians. Their random selection was only meant to illustrate a broad range of practices that span international library boundaries. Conducting a document analysis on such a small and random selection of documents is therefore also only meant to be a small way to consider

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what these documents might mean. In perusing them, however, I was struck most often by the themes of connections, education, and service. Each will be considered briefly.

Connections Libraries exist for many reasons, with one of the most common being to connect people with information, whether that information is a print or online source or another person. Many of the examples above illustrate these types of connections. For example, cataloging enhancements such as RDA serve to connect patrons potentially all over the world to needed sources of information that span geographic borders. Likewise, the IFLA conference supports connections among people (in this case librarians) all over the world. And professional workshops on diversity emphasize connections between librarians and the diverse patrons they serve in their home libraries. Connecting patrons to information, librarians to each other, and librarians to their communities is manifest in many of the practices described above.

Education Another reason that libraries exist is to promote learning. How they do this can vary by type of library, available resources, location, and staff, among many other factors. The examples above support education in many forms. For example, Librarians without Borders promotes learning through its support of literacy. By donating books in areas considered literacy poor, its practice is a strong manifestation of education. Sister libraries, in another example, supports education as well but of a cultural nature. By linking programs and people together from different libraries, learning can be enhanced for both sets of partners. Standards and guidelines such as the International Standards for School Libraries support education as well, by codifying and sharing best practices for librarians around the world. And public library work such as offering English classes to new immigrants also supports education, in this case at home. International librarianship practices like these examples offer strong evidence of the importance of education in library work.

Service I use the term “service” to mean providing some kind of support to others to enable learning to take place or to be sustainable through various

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means. Supporting the learning of others is a strong library tenet evident in these examples of library practice. Establishing and supporting connections and participating in educational activities are inherently forms of service. But service can take other forms as well. Digital preservation work, for example, can be considered a form of service because it is designed to help researchers in the future access information before it disappears. And programs such as the ALA German–US Librarian Exchange Program can be understood as service, in that they help librarians meet, network, and learn from each other. Finally, policies such as those arising from the Global Libraries Program of the Gates Foundation are another example of service that seeds library efforts in developing parts of the world to foster sustainability. All three themes, then—connections, education, and service—are present in the practices of international librarianship highlighted in this chapter. What makes these themes international is that they seem to contain some element of library work occurring across national borders or taking place between people from different countries.This emphasis on “between” serves to underscore the linkages of library work across borders. It therefore literally illustrates the etymological “inter” sense of international (“between nations”). These themes also resonate with my personal definition of international librarianship offered in the first chapter: “one profession, many communities, connecting to each other to promote learning globally and locally.” Connections can be seen in the definition through an implied linkage of the profession to many communities. Education can be seen in the focus on learning both locally and globally. And service can be seen in the promotion and support of learning, in helping it to take place.

SUMMARY This chapter has shown that international librarianship can potentially encompass many different types of practices described and outlined in documents.The various practices include librarian work in and through professional associations, programs, policies, conferences, standards and guidelines, and workshops. These practices cover librarian work involving collections, resource sharing, and preservation. Further intriguing examples such as multilingual cataloging, sister libraries, Librarians without Borders/Better World Books, and public library work with new immigrants and refugees can also be seen as possible practices of international librarianship. Taken

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together, all these examples display a variety of ways that librarians seem to be able to engage in international librarianship. In examining the documents that describe these different practices for common themes, three seem to emerge: connections, education, and service. Connections include practices that tie together patrons and information, librarians with other librarians, and libraries with their communities. Education includes practices that support the development of learning and literacy through library programs and services. And service includes not only practices that connect and educate, but also practices that help distribute resources, promote sustainability, and support professional development. Seen in contexts where library work takes place across national borders or between people from different countries, these larger themes help illuminate the depth of international librarianship in practice. Having considered the literature of international librarianship in the first chapter, and examples of its potential practices in documents in this second chapter, the next chapter begins reporting on the research results that form the core of this book. It starts by looking at what practicing librarians are generally thinking about when they consider what international librarianship means to them personally.

CHAPTER 3

International Librarianship Survey: What Are Librarians Broadly Thinking? The research project from which the original content of this book springs consisted of an online survey and a set of personal interviews conducted in 2016.The survey was designed to gauge how librarians are broadly thinking about issues related to international librarianship by examining how librarians personally define international librarianship, what aspects of librarianship seem to lend themselves best to international work, who librarians think are most engaged in international librarianship, how librarians can learn more about international librarianship, and if librarians think international librarianship can be practiced in home settings. A mixed-method research study was used to collect information on these issues. Quantitative numerical data was collected through an online survey, and qualitative data was collected through a series of personal interviews. This chapter describes how and when this research was conducted, and who participated in it. The chapter then presents and describes aggregate numerical results from the quantitative portion of the research project, the online survey, and offers preliminary interpretations of what these numbers might mean.The purpose of the chapter, then, is to report the survey results and see what they can tell us about how practicing librarians view international librarianship in broad ways.

METHODOLOGY The online survey took the form of a questionnaire, and contained 10 multiple-choice questions with space for further comments. The survey questions were as follows. 1. What does international librarianship mean to you? 2. Which library positions do you think are most involved with international librarianship? 3. Following up on question 2, why do you think this is so? International Librarianship at Home and Abroad ISBN 978-0-08-101896-5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101896-5.00003-X

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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4. Do you personally think that international librarianship is an important role for librarians? 5. Do you think international librarianship should be part of the curriculum taught in all library schools? 6. Do you think that librarians interested in international librarianship should know languages other than English? 7. What library functions do you think lend themselves most to international librarianship? 8. What ways do you think are the best for learning more about international librarianship? 9. Do you think you can experience international librarianship without traveling abroad yourself? 10. Do you consider yourself an international librarian? Each question was followed by a set of potential answers in multiplechoice format. A list of the full survey questions plus all the potential answers is given in Appendix A.

Timeline and Distribution Channels The online survey was initially opened at the end of May 2016 and sent to multiple librarian listservs, including IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations), ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) Academic Library Services to International Students, ACRL International Perspectives on Academic and Research Libraries, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries, Ontario Council of University Libraries, and American Library Association (ALA) International Relations Round Table members. In addition, it was forwarded to the International Association of School Librarians, the IFLA School Libraries Network, and the European Network for School Libraries and International Literacy. Librarians who initially received the survey request passed it on to interested colleagues and co-workers in their own libraries and further personal professional networks as well. The survey remained open through June, July, and August 2016 to accommodate respondents who potentially might be interested in a follow-up personal interview. Personal interviews options were made available for any interested librarian attending the ALA annual conference in Orlando, Florida, at the end of June 2016. For librarians interested in participating in an individual interview who were not attending ALA annual event, provisions were made to conduct interviews by phone or email later in the summer of 2016.

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Participants As a result of this widespread dissemination, 320 respondents completed the survey. In addition, a further 25 follow-up individual interviews took place either in person at the ALA annual conference 2016, or by phone or email. A map of the survey participants whose location could be determined shows a wide geographical distribution (Fig. 3.1). As can be seen, many of the respondents did come from North America, principally the United States (162), but there were participants from many other countries as well, including Canada (24), Mexico (4), Colombia (3),Venezuela (2), Brazil (2), Argentina (1), Chile (1), Iceland (1), Norway (1), Sweden (1), Denmark (1), United Kingdom (9), Ireland (1), France (6), Germany (4), Spain (1), Portugal (1), Italy (4), Netherlands (4), Belgium (1), Austria (1), Switzerland (5), Hungary (2), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1), Romania (1), Greece (2), Slovenia (1), Albania (1), Croatia (2), Serbia (1), Turkey (1), Kazakhstan (1), Kyrgyzstan (1), India (3), Pakistan (2), Bangladesh (1), Egypt (1), United Arab Emirates (3), Nigeria (3), Ghana (1), Namibia (1), Zimbabwe (1), South Africa (2), Madagascar (1), Malaysia (2), Indonesia (1), Philippines (3), Australia (12), New Zealand (1), South Korea (2), and Japan (1).

Figure 3.1  Geographic location of survey respondents.

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SURVEY RESULTS Figs. 3.2–3.11 show the numerical results for each survey question. Each graph shows the raw count (the number of responses out of a total of 320 survey takers) and the percentages they represent (what percentage of the 320 respondents answered a question in a particular way). The responses marked “other” at the end of some questions show the number of results, but the content of these “other” results are not shown because they are words, not digits.As such, this raw data (the word responses) is too lengthy to reproduce in its entirety in this chapter. As with the qualitative responses from the individual personal interviews, however, the word responses in the comments sections were coded for patterns to serve as the basis for emerging themes. Common responses that appear frequently are reported here, as they can add meaning to some of the associated number results. All qualitative data, both word responses from the survey and words from the personal interviews, is described and analyzed in Chapter 4.

Personal Meaning of International Librarianship This question was answered by all respondents except one (319 out of 320). As can be seen, working as a librarian in another country and participating in international resource sharing were identified as most strongly representing what international librarianship meant to those taking the survey. Networking with librarians from other countries at conferences was a close second. Sending weeded books to developing nations scored the fewest responses, with hosting a librarian from another country and going on a study tour abroad falling in between (Fig. 3.2). What these numbers suggest is that working as a librarian in another country resonates strongly as one of the clearest ways that a librarian can participate in international librarianship. This is reflected strongly in the literature. Participating in international resource sharing, however, scored the same number of responses. Clearly, this is an area that the literature of librarianship ought to explore more closely. Resource sharing may be an activity that can be practiced in home library settings as well. As such, it could offer an avenue for participating in international librarianship to interested librarians who may not have the resources (money, time, or opportunity) to work abroad. Networking with other librarians at conferences does require some of these same resources, but might be more in the realm of possibility for librarians seeking international experiences who cannot commit to lengthier trips abroad. And connecting online may serve

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Figure 3.2  Personal meaning of international librarianship.

as another way to participate in international librarianship in a meaningful way without incurring costs and travel time. The very small number of responses agreeing that donating weeded library items to libraries abroad constitutes an aspect of international librarianship is interesting as well.This could indicate discomfort at viewing this practice in those terms, or disagreement with the worth of the practice itself. The “other” comments for question 1 comprised 82 responses, so many people wanted to comment further on what international librarianship meant to them. Working with international students was cited most frequently (almost 20 times), followed by “all of the above” (10 times). Further common comments included attending international conferences and networking with colleagues abroad. Several comments offered value judgments on work-abroad experiences, for example “a work exchange lasting one

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month or more has more value than a brief study tour which anyone can organize for themselves [as a] tourist.” Another value judgment stated that “it requires a global outlook and not an imposition of values from one specific place, but the sharing of internationally agreed upon standards which can work to benefit all.” From the comments alone, it can be seen that many librarians view working abroad and resource sharing as important aspects of what international librarianship means to them, but they also tie these activities to deeper thinking about shared values and understanding.

Library Positions Most Involved With International Librarianship Responses to this question elicited some interesting input. Librarians involved in professional associations received by far the greatest number of responses (229 out of 315), followed by those involved in resource-sharing consortia and then those in library director positions. Systems or information technology (IT) librarians received the fewest number of responses, with collections/acquisitions and reference/instruction librarians in the middle range (Fig. 3.3). The high number of responses indicating that librarians involved in professional associations may have more opportunities to participate in international librarianship could be a direct reflection of the respondents themselves. Which library positions do you think are most involved with international librarianship?

Figure 3.3  Library positions most involved with international librarianship.

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Perhaps the librarians most interested in international librarianship are those who also are able to attend conferences regularly? While this survey can certainly not prove that, it could potentially indicate some bias on the part of the respondents. It is also interesting to consider the second most chosen response, librarians involved in resource-sharing consortia, as being most likely to participate in international librarianship. This could reflect back on the first question. If many librarians consider resource sharing to be international librarianship, it might follow that librarians involved in this type of work are most likely to be seen as practicing international librarianship. The other interesting aspect of this response is that it was more frequently chosen than library directors, presumably the people who have the most time, money, and opportunities to travel abroad on library business. And the low number of systems or IT librarians chosen seems to de-emphasize international aspects of the technological work done in setting up computer connections between distant libraries as evidence of international librarianship. In terms of comments for this question, the most common response was that it could be anyone. Examples of comments that support this point of view include “Position isn’t relevant. Personality and interests are. Anyone can become involved” and “all of the above have a potential depending on the frame of mind.” What is particularly striking in these comments is that the emphasis is not on the means at all (although one comment noted that “directors have more control over budgets and time”) but is rather on the individual librarian’s outlook: “I believe all positions can be involved with international librarianship, as it is a perspective that one can choose to take.”

Reasons Why These Positions Are Most Involved Continuing on from question 2, this question asked respondents for reasons why they think certain positions might be more involved with international librarianship than others. Lack of institutional support garnered the greatest number of votes (175 out of 302), followed quite closely by lack of awareness and money constraints. Lack of interest was seen as the least important reason, but it still attracted 113 respondent choices (Fig. 3.4). A number of comments noted that this question seemed misleading because it appears negative. In other words, it seems to imply that participating in international librarianship is not happening and then asking why not. This is a valid response to the question, which I readily acknowledge as a deficiency in this survey.

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Following up on question 2, why do you think this is so?

Figure 3.4  Reasons why these positions are most involved.

In terms of what can be learned from this question, however, a lack of institutional support came across in a number of responses. For example, one respondent noted that one reason for participation in international librarianship not happening is the “lack of a service mandate from administrators or decision makers to whom library administrators report.” Lack of cultural awareness also appeared in several responses, notably “Librarians from the US thinking they already know everything.” Conversely, several comments turned the question on its head and offered more positive responses, noting that time can be an inhibiting factor as well: “Genuine engagement must be a long-term commitment that enables the librarian to have a deep understanding of the environment (s)he is working with.” Once again, the respondents seemed to stress in their answers the greater importance of attitude and outlook of individual librarians over constraints such as time, money, job definition, or travel opportunity.

Importance of the Role of International Librarianship These numbers show “yes” overwhelmingly as the most chosen response (236 out of 317). The answer of “it depends” reflects the middle range, with an outright “no” only chosen by four respondents (Fig. 3.5).

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Do you personally think that international librarianship is an important role for librarians?

Figure 3.5  Importance of the role of international librarianship.

The answers here may once again show the bias of the respondents themselves. People presumably more interested in international librarianship would probably more likely participate in a survey on the topic. What is perhaps more surprising is the number of respondents who answered “it depends,” rather than indicating that they did not know or were unsure by choosing the “I don’t know” response. The comments for this question shed more light on the “yes” responses than on the “it depends” replies. Many comments, for example, stressed why the respondent felt that international librarianship was an important role for librarians: “It is an extension of the profession—librarians need to be aware of what is going on in the world, so that we can support and learn from one another” and “International awareness is a human condition—everyone should be attuned to it and professionally, there is so much to share.”The only comments that seemed to reflect the “it depends” answer offered options such as “it depends on the discipline” and “it depends on the type of library.” The overwhelming number of comments, however, offered thought on why international librarianship is an important role for librarians.

International Librarianship as Curriculum in Library School This question asked respondents to indicate whether or not they thought that international librarianship should be offered as a course to new librarians in graduate programs. Another overwhelming majority (240 out of 318) indicated agreement, with far fewer respondents saying “I don’t know” or outright “no.” And once again, the high proportion of affirmative responses could likely have to do with respondent bias. For librarians interested in international librarianship, it might stand to reason that learning about it at the start of one’s career would probably be a good idea.

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Do you think international librarianship should be part of the curriculum taught in all library schools?

Figure 3.6  International librarianship as curriculum in library school.

The comments for this question, interestingly, deviated from the same arc of numerical responses shown in Fig. 3.6. Most of the comments could be coded as “maybe” responses, such as “as an elective, but not a required course” and “it should at least be offered as an optional course available to all.” Other responses remarked on the difficulty of fitting more coursework in: “We have so many fundamental courses that are being dropped. I think it should be offered as a part of an introductory course and/or library management course.” Others further underscored this idea of incorporating content about international librarianship into already existing courses: “There should be a focus in library school on internationalizing all aspects of librarianship—this is the future.” As to why there were so many “yes” responses as a multiple-choice answer, but yet most of the comments showed a “maybe” aspect, it could be that “yes” respondents thought no further explanation was necessary. Or perhaps the “maybe” comments showed a deeper level of thinking as some of the more thoughtful minority considered other options for learning about this topic in library school. Either way, there does seem to be support among practicing librarians for considering international librarianship as content in library school in whatever form that may take.

International Librarianship and Multilingualism This question asked respondents about their views on librarians working in the area of international librarianship knowing more languages than English. The ambivalence of responses can be seen in the exact same number of respondents choosing “yes” as choosing “it depends” (145 out of 319). Only 25 respondents said “no” outright, followed by a tiny minority who indicated “I don’t know.” This particular question was answered by the same number of respondents as question 1 (319 out of 320), and also elicited the largest number of comments (Fig. 3.7).

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Do you think that librarians interested in international librarianship should know languages other than English?

Figure 3.7  International librarianship and multilingualism.

The large number of comments for this question (94) may at least indicate that the topic of English is one about which many librarians have an opinion. The comments themselves range across a wide gamut, from “it is not necessary” to “it could be beneficial.”The majority of the comments fall in the middle of this range, with most respondents somewhat hedging their bets: “Other languages are helpful, but English is the working language of work situations abroad” and “Language skills may help. Cultural and professional empathy are more important.” What might explain some of the comments in this section would be the identity of the respondents in terms of whether or not they were Americans (as half of the survey takers were), if they had worked in a library outside the United States, and whether or not they know another language themselves. All the respondents were anonymous, however, so no type of correlation can be made here. What might be said, though, is that the sheer number of comments probably shows that librarians have strong opinions on the topic. So perhaps future research could probe more deeply into the reasons behind these strong opinions.

Library Functions Most Suited to International Librarianship Question 7 differs from question 2 on library positions, because it looks at functions within positions. In other words, it was not asking respondents to name a librarian title or occupation, but instead to identify different types of library work. Sharing professional practices among librarians from different countries received the greatest number of votes (298 out of 317), but this was followed fairly closely by providing research assistance and technical support, and working with open-access initiatives. The sharing or donation of materials received the smallest number of respondents (Fig. 3.8).

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What library functions do you think lend themselves most to international librarianship?

Figure 3.8  Library functions most suited to international librarianship.

The sharing of professional practices could potentially encompass the other choices as well, so once I again admit the inadequacy of this particular question. It is interesting to note, however, that providing assistance to users abroad received such a high ranking, as did providing technical assistance and supporting open access. Providing assistance to users abroad could reflect a form of transnational education mentioned in Chapter 1, whereby an institution sets up a foreign campus and supports it from its home location. Providing all kinds of library assistance in terms of resources, technical expertise, and open-access sharing could potentially explain some of the levels of these responses. On the other hand, systems or IT librarians as a job position were not strongly identified as displaying aspects of international librarianship in question 2. Perhaps the respondents are able to separate the types of duties from the job positions themselves? It would also be very interesting to discover which respondents to this question were Americans

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and which not, to see if where a librarian is from could influence which answer was chosen. That, however, can only remain speculative, since the survey was anonymous. The comments for this question mainly offered examples of choices that were not offered as a multiple-choice answer. For example, suggested answers that did not appear included “mentoring,” “programming,” and “advocacy.” One respondent, presumably American, noted that “Speaking for the US, often times other countries have systems more sophisticated/ advanced than our own; we should not think of ourselves always as ’providing…assistance’.” And several responses very strongly implied that shipping off weeded material to developing nations was not a good practice for international librarianship: “Donations tend to be mistaken. Research assistance also needs to be provided for librarians in less developed countries to help them develop their [own] services” and “…There is a danger of treating other countries as a dumping ground for material that is surplus to us, with no real understanding of whether those countries need those materials.” One of the strongest comments was tied to personal experience: “I don’t think sending books overseas is desirable. During the 20 years I worked with developing countries, I saw boxes of books deteriorating as they did not have the resources to process them.”

Best Ways for Learning About International Librarianship Question 8 solicited opinions as to how best to learn more about international librarianship. It was answered by 319 out of 320 respondents, equal to the questions on what international librarianship means and whether librarians should know more languages than English (Fig. 3.9). For this question, however, the answers subdivide fairly equally across a number of choices. Participating in an international project or program got the most votes (272 out of 319), but this was followed closely by meeting librarians from other countries in person, attending conferences, connecting online with librarians in other countries, and contacting librarians who have already been involved in international projects. The least popular options, though not by a wide margin, were committee work in professional associations and reading the professional literature. The range of responses as to how best to learn more about international librarianship may reflect the different learning desires, skills, and abilities of the respondents. If this is the case (and it cannot be proven), it would make sense to see a range of answers chosen that display equal levels of affirmation. Or it could mean that these are all equally important ways to learn.

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What ways do you think are the best for learning more about international librarianship?

Figure 3.9  Best ways for learning about international librarianship.

What I found most interesting about this particular question was the lower rankings accorded to reading the professional literature and doing committee work. Less interest in reading the professional literature would be an ironic outcome of this particular research project, which is being presented as a form of professional literature. Could it mean that respondents to this survey might not be interested in seeing the results of it in this book? It is hard to say. And ranking committee work so low also strikes me as unusual, in that getting involved with committees was earlier seen to be a good way to participate in international librarianship. Whatever the case may be, the responses do seem to suggest that establishing personal, individual relationships with other librarians, whether in person, online, or through project work, seems to be the most favored way to learn more about international librarianship.

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The comments for this particular question are the one place in the survey where “work abroad” takes precedence. Although the number of comments was not great (27), about one-third of them echoed this sentiment: “gaining employment abroad,” “traveling and living abroad,” and “spending time visiting/working in overseas libraries.” This suggests that the form of international librarianship most commonly appearing in the literature, that of traveling and working abroad, does resonate with a number of librarians. It seems to be a very clear way for librarians to learn about international librarianship.

Experiencing International Librarianship Without Travel Abroad This question sought to determine if respondents could see international librarianship as something potentially separate from traveling abroad. The number of respondents (195 out of 317) would seem to indicate so. Those saying “no” comprised the next largest group of respondents, followed by those who chose “I don’t know” (Fig. 3.10). The results of this question are interesting to see in relation to the comments from the preceding question on how to learn more about international librarianship. While a number of comments from question 9 offered “work abroad” as an answer to learning more, the responses to this question seem to reverse that position. Perhaps learning and experiencing are seen as different phenomena to respondents? Or perhaps the respondents who commented “work abroad” (numerically, only about 10 out of 27 comments) chose “no” to this question above? It cannot be determined from the data. The large number of responses in general to questions 8 (319) and 9 (317) would seem to show that both questions were of interest to the survey takers.

Do you think you can experience international librarianship without travelling abroad yourself?

Figure 3.10  Experiencing international librarianship without travel abroad.

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My intent in question 9 was to tease out the importance of travel abroad as a required component of international librarianship. I wanted to find out if librarians in general thought a travel-abroad experience was absolutely essential for a librarian to feel as if they participated in international librarianship. What the answers above say to me is that it definitely seen as a worthwhile advantage, but that perhaps it is not 100% necessary. The comments seem to underscore that point. This question elicited 70 comments, most of which encompass “probably yes” but also “it may not always be possible.” Further examples include “You could [experience international librarianship without traveling abroad] but it’s not ideal—you really need boots on the ground” and “To an extent—I think you can have some involvement without travel, but not to [its] greatest potential.” Other comments stressed ways that participation in international librarianship could happen without requisite travel: “We have the tools to work internationally—let’s do it!” and “Hosting foreign librarians or being involved in international committees within ALA would be great ways to participate without traveling.” What these answers suggest to me is that international librarianship could potentially consist of a range of experiences, both those that include travel and those that provide other ways of working internationally as a librarian.

Considering Yourself an International Librarian This last question received the same high number of responses as the earlier questions on what international librarianship means, should international librarians know more than English, and what are the best ways to learn about international librarianship. It is the fourth question to receive 319 out of 320 responses, which seems to indicate it was of importance to the respondents. It asked very directly if respondents thought of themselves as international librarians. A large majority (193 out of 319) said “yes,” followed by about half that number saying “no.” “I don’t know” received the smallest number of responses (Fig. 3.11). The 60 comments received for this question stretched the binary yes/no nature of the available answers. In other words, most of the respondents who posted comments probably chose “yes,” in that their comments appear to offer further reasons for that choice. Examples include “Kind of, but my only access is through international online groups and email lists” and “Yes, but I have limited experience since I am not able to work in an international library.” Other comments offered details of experiences that could be

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Do you consider yourself an international librarian?

Figure 3.11  Considering yourself an international librarian.

construed as an affirmative answer: “I live and work in Switzerland, but it is not my home country” and “I have a track record of development projects in 3 continents that were funded by a variety of agencies.” Still other responses displayed neither a definite yes or no: “Does Canada count?” and “It depends on what your definition of international librarianship is.” Finally, a small number of comments showed what appears to be a yearning: “I wish I could get a gig abroad!” and simply “I would like to be.” Taken together, the answers to question 10 offer a good point at which to end this chapter. Many of the survey respondents seem to think of themselves as already practicing or being involved with international librarianship, while others do not, or wish they could be. The facets of international librarianship seem to be wide-ranging. And the issues that comprise various aspect of international librarianship, such as how librarians personally define it, understand it, practice it, and wish to learn more about it, offer a goldmine of information for researchers to pursue and analyze.

SUMMARY This chapter has reported on the first part of the research study that forms the core of this book. It conveys all the numerical quantitative data collected for the project. This data came from the online survey described at the start of the chapter. The breakdown of responses from the 10 multiple-choice questions in the survey form the bulk of the chapter. Short analyses offer potential ways to interpret the data. What can be gleaned from this broad

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look at what librarians think in general about international librarianship serves as the background for the following chapter. What librarians think broadly about international librarianship covers a wide territory and views many different types of work as constituting international librarianship, such as working in and visiting libraries abroad, resource sharing, and personal networking with colleagues from other countries. It also includes engaging in these same types of activates in home library settings, potentially through hosting visiting librarians from other countries and networking at conferences. Intriguing glimpses of daily librarian work through the provision of information services and sharing resources seem to be broadly viewed as forms of international librarianship as well. Donating weeded materials to developing nations, on the other hand, was rated low by librarians as a form of international librarianship. Librarians also generally seem to think that international librarianship should somehow be part of the curriculum in library school, but are not in agreement as to when or how it should appear. Additionally, librarians seem generally ambivalent about the use and role of English in international librarianship in terms of whether or not it should be the sole form of communication in various settings. Learning more about international librarianship is viewed positively by librarians, who identified the most effective ways to do so as participating in some sort of international project themselves or meeting librarians from other countries. This is in contrast to reading the professional literature or becoming involved in committee work in professional organizations, both of which are seen as the least favorable ways to learn more. In general, however, many librarians either seem to see themselves as or aspire to be international librarians. International librarianship appears to be an important role for librarians. Now that we know some general characteristics of how international librarianship is viewed by practicing librarians, we turn to discover more deeply understood aspects of its practice by reporting on the second part of the research study in the next chapter.

CHAPTER 4

International Librarianship Interviews: What Are Individual Librarians Thinking About Deeply? The online survey was the opening salvo of this research project. Following its deployment, I sought to conduct follow-up interviews in person with librarians interested in the topic of international librarianship. The reason for this two-pronged approach was that the survey was intended to collect the general thoughts of practicing librarians concerning various aspects of international librarianship, such as what they think it means, what practices lend themselves best to international work, and if it can be practiced at home. In the follow-up interviews my intent was to delve more deeply into these issues, explore personal experiences with international librarianship, and look for themes that flowed between and across these individual interviews. By examining particular aspects of international librarianship in more depth at an individual level, I was also looking to fill in any gaps discovered in the broader overview and bring those findings into sharper focus. Qualitative findings from the comments section of the survey are used in this chapter to supplement words collected from the individual participants involved in the one-on-one personal interviews.

PARTICIPANTS I conducted follow-up interviews with 25 participants over the course of June, July, and August 2016. From the start, these interviews were a source of interest and inspiration to me because of the varied and fascinating personal experiences of the individual participants. Although most were practicing librarians, one was a seasoned human resources professional working in a library setting. The work experiences of the practicing librarians included a wide range of career levels, from a newly graduated entry-level professional librarian to mid-career librarians, a former state librarian, and a former International Librarianship at Home and Abroad ISBN 978-0-08-101896-5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101896-5.00004-1

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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American Library Association (ALA) president. Three participants were Canadian, one was German, one Dutch, one from Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, and the rest were Americans. Most of the Americans were currently working in US libraries, but one was working in Qatar and one in Rome. Three participants worked in public libraries, one in a government library, four in school libraries, and the rest in academic libraries at either colleges or universities. Five of the participants were men, and 20 were women. Four participants were not native speakers of English, with the rest being native speakers. It should be noted that I did not explicitly collect or ask any identifying demographics of these participants; instead, they were free to volunteer any information about themselves that they wanted to share. The descriptions that I offer are therefore intended to give readers a sense of the range of their backgrounds and provide some context to their words in this chapter, but the participants are not meant to represent a statistically valid random sample of all practicing librarians. Instead, they represent a small crosssection of librarians interested in sharing their thoughts about international librarianship. The results of the personal interviews described here offer ways to think about international librarianship that come from deeply personal responses, from the thoughts and lived experiences of particular individuals. The hope in this chapter is that their thoughts can inspire wider conversations among us about what international librarianship can mean to practicing librarians. The personal interviews were conducted either in person, by phone, or through email.These open-ended interviews were based on a series of similar questions that the participants were invited to use as a starting point for our conversations. Because of their open-ended nature, the data collected from these interviews was qualitative in nature, relying on words rather than the numbers and frequencies of responses seen in the more quantitative online survey. The questions that formed the basis of the conversations in the semistructured personal interviews were as follows (see Appendix B for the formal guide). 1. What does “international librarianship” mean to you personally? Do you have any personal examples or experiences you would like to share (e.g., working as a librarian in another country, visiting foreign libraries, hosting librarians, networking, Better World Books)? 2. Do you think ideas and practices around international librarianship should be more emphasized both in library school and in practice? 3.  Who do you think should be participating in international librarianship?

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4. W  hat kinds of library work do you think are international? 5. Do think that knowing other languages and cultures and traveling a lot are important and/or necessary for being an international librarian? 6. Do you think of yourself as an international librarian? Why or why not? Other personal interviews also used the following questions as a basis for conversations. 1. Do you have a personal definition of international librarianship in terms of what is most meaningful to you? 2. Do you have any personal experiences or examples of international librarianship in your own life or career? 3.  Do you have any more thoughts, different perspectives, or further insights on any of the questions from the online survey?

BEING INTERNATIONAL Several of the participants attributed their interest in international librarianship as springing from an earlier interest in international experiences in general, not bounded by being a librarian. As one participant put it, “I am a globally minded Muslim first and a librarian later.” Some of the participants’ early nonlibrarian international experiences had to do with how they were raised, or a study-abroad experience they engaged in when younger, or experiences with friends, family, or colleagues traveling, studying, or working abroad. Others, however, became more interested in international librarianship only after enrolling in library school or securing employment as a librarian. The continuum of arising interest in international work therefore ran from childhood and young-adult experiences through to library school or on-the-job experiences with international librarianship. In terms of childhood experiences, one participant had attended international summer camps as a child and thus had extensive experience interacting with other children from many different countries while growing up: “I attended a children’s international summer village from the age of 10 on. It was a peace education organization for children. From an early age, I learned about different perspectives. I was blown away by knowledge from other countries. I heard what other people had to say about the world.”This participant attributed her early exposure to other children from different countries as opening a door for her to explore the world as an adult. She had also lived abroad in the Netherlands for over 4 years before working as a librarian in an American setting.

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Another participant had equally intriguing international experiences growing up. As the child of American missionaries, she lived in the West Indies, France,Thailand, the Central African Republic,Taiwan, and England, among other places. She was also bilingual in English and French. Having had such an extensive exposure to other cultures throughout childhood led her to say, “I grew up internationally [which influenced] the way I function and the way I think about myself.” Another participant also lived as a child outside the United States: “I was born in Japan, but raised and educated in Brazil,” which would of course influence one’s perspectives in life. Young-adult experiences factored into responses as well. One participant made a choice to study abroad as a young adult because she “loved Spanish class in high school and college,” so she participated in a junior year studyabroad trip in Spain. After graduating from college, she worked in Madrid for three years and then worked throughout Southeast Asia as a student advisor. Following those experiences, she went to library school. Another participant remarked that “I was a Peace Corps volunteer” before becoming a librarian. Experiences of an international bent while in library school surfaced in the interviews. One participant noted, for example, that when she attended library school “three fellow students were friends of mine, one from Iceland, one from Brazil, and one from Taiwan,” which lent an international perspective to her own studies. A German participant also made a very good point about international perspectives in education providing “maybe more of a European focus” given how globally oriented their system of education already is. A plethora of international experiences in on-the-job librarianship underscored many of the responses here, as well as comments by individual respondents in the survey who freely offered this further information.These personal responses show the types of library experiences considered relevant to international librarianship, including physically working, traveling, and studying abroad: • “participating in a study program in Austria for 6 weeks” • “speaking at a Belarusian Library Association conference” • “taking study trips to Italy and South Korea” • “attending IFLA [International Federation of Library Associations] conferences around the world” • “using a year-long sabbatical grant to travel to 15 countries and 500 libraries throughout Asia” • “working in Italy, the Netherlands, and the US as a German librarian” • “getting Fulbright grants to the Czech Republic and Poland” • “working as a Canadian librarian in a library in Qatar”

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• “doing an internship in a US library, then taking back home what I learned” • “getting my first full-time library job in Kazakhstan” • “getting a State Department grant to establish a partnership to teach Bulgarian libraries how to become community centers” • “attending international book fairs in Madrid and Guadalajara, Mexico” • “participating in an international librarian exchange between Canada and Australia” • “presenting at international public library conferences” • “setting up libraries in Kenya” • “working in an international school library where 60% of the population is expat” • “conducting a study tour of Scandinavian libraries” •  “working with international development organizations in South Africa” • “living and working in Switzerland, but it is not my home country” • “working at a United Nations library” • “making international connections when I was a student in Norway” • “meeting LIS [library and information science] professionals in whichever country I visit—Singapore, Kenya, Tanzania, Dubai, Bahrain, Australia, etc.” • “participating in an international investigation program, Mexico–Spain” • “spending time visiting/working in overseas libraries.” These experiences also included engaging in the work of librarianship in home settings, in which information, materials, or services were conducted, shared, or transmitted across borders: • “assisting researchers in finding and using international legal materials” • “participating in a book exchange with a public library in Spain” • “taking part in sister cities programs” • “publishing in English and Spanish on various topics such as multicultural book programs” • “providing ESL [English as a second language] and citizenship classes in the public library” • “conducting webinars for librarians in different countries” • “participating in the International Librarians Network online” • “serving as the embedded librarian for study-abroad students” • “becoming a member of the Indonesia Library Club at home” • “meeting visiting librarians from New Zealand and the Ukraine” • “teaching a course on international librarianship”

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• “engaging in a mentor/mentee relationship with a foreign librarian” • “seeding an African library” • “working with international students in US libraries” •  “building open-source digital repositories to share information globally” • “building an international collection” • “mounting library exhibits and displays about different cultures” • “working with Librarians without Borders” • “providing virtual reference services to UK libraries abroad” • “editing an international art journal” • “being involved in the UNESCO project to create a multilingual IL [information literacy] publication” • “working on a grant to help us provide translation services for patrons from other countries who have relocated to the US” • “meeting librarians from Central and South America” • “Cycling for Libraries (C4L).” The vast continuum of experiences noted by participants in the interviews and individual responses from the survey ranged from short-term visits for conferences or study trips abroad to long-term experiences such as working abroad or engaging in ongoing international development projects. They included physical trips abroad and virtual connections made in home settings; providing services to domestic students abroad as well as to new immigrants and refugees at home; and book exchanges, educational offerings, consulting and training new professionals, and educating colleagues about international issues. Truly, a whole book could probably be written just describing these international library experiences in more depth. The range and types of work engaged in by the participants and respondents were impressive. For the purposes of this book, however, they are meant to serve as examples of work that could be considered international librarianship. By looking across these examples and hearing how the participants described their personal significance, my intent is to draw a deeper meaning from why they were important rather than simply what they were.

PERSONAL DEFINITIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LIBRARIANSHIP The first level of making meaning from the personal significance of international library experiences might be seen in how the participants defined “international librarianship” personally.When asked “What does international

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librarianship mean to you?” a range of responses were received, of which the following are a sample. • Most likely everyone will have a slightly different interpretation of what international librarianship means to them, based on their background and experiences. For me, I think in a global world with so much travel we should all acknowledge that we have an aspect of international librarianship to our work. • Knowing how to provide appropriate and sensitive research support and training to this demographic [international researchers]. • Traveling as a librarian to international conferences. • Working internationally (not in your native country). • Connecting, collaborating with librarians around the world. • Working domestically with international projects. • It is more than just being a librarian in our native country. • The willingness of any librarians, anywhere, to share their knowledge and expertise with colleagues in other countries in a timely manner. •  Interacting with librarians from other countries either virtually, or [when they] are visiting the US. • …engaging in activities that directly involve interacting with librarians in places located outside of a person’s country of origin. I don’t believe that philanthropy is international librarianship per se. • A librarian physically working in a library that is not in the country of origin. • A librarian who has working/collegial/active relationships with librarians outside of the country of origin. • A librarian who engages in studies/research about librarians or library culture outside the country of origin. • Working with international students on US campuses, acquainting them to the academic/academic library culture and sources of information in the United States. • It is also a subfield in academic librarianship that is familiar with international bibliographic sources for researchers doing work in different parts of the world. • I’d make the case that everything [in] “librarianship” is now international. • I personally think it has to be a more sustained involvement with international colleagues or working in a setting that isn’t in one’s home country (e.g., working abroad). •  Connecting/networking/working/exchanging ideas with librarians from other countries and with those here in the US who also consider themselves international librarians.

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• Visiting libraries in other countries. • Meeting other people, traveling, connecting people together, and creating personal relationships. • Getting an opportunity to see how things are done differently. • Collaborating internationally. • Working across cultures. • Thinking of ourselves as international. • Networking and sharing across cultures and across borders. • Trying to bring an international perspective into my country. • Developing and cultivating ties with others. • I think we need to stop talking about international librarianship and start talking about international libraries.

Individual Responses The responses gathered above illustrate quite nicely the range of thinking that arises from requests to define a concept like international librarianship in a personal way. What is important or meaningful to one person might be different to someone else.This uniqueness within the various responses adds individual depth to the question of how librarians are personally defining international librarianship. I bracketed the comments in this section deliberately with the first and last comments to provide clear markers for the range of unique comments. The first comment that “most likely everyone will have a different interpretation” underscores the idea that most librarians would probably offer different responses because each responder is a unique individual. That is an important point to remember. Although commonalities (described below) offer potential patterns across librarian responses, it is important to remember that each response does arise from a uniquely individual perspective. Every participant reflects their own beliefs and opinions. The second part of this comment, that different answers about what international librarianship personally means to them could vary because of “different background[s] and experiences,” points to the need to remember that where these personal reflections come from can vary as well. I find this an equally valid point to remember. The environment that librarians come from, where they grew up, if they traveled as a child, if they were exposed to other cultures, where they currently work, and where they have worked in the past could all potentially explain different answers. Taken together, those two points in

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the first comment remind me that each person’s definition is unique and arises from a unique set of beliefs and background experiences. These points regarding backgrounds and experiences are further emphasized by the comments in the preceding section about being international. Growing up in different countries, such as the librarian who was the daughter of missionaries, could certainly shape one’s perspective. Likewise, attending an international summer program with children from other countries leads to a unique perspective. Working in the Peace Corps, participating in a work exchange, supporting the research needs of scholars abroad, and even working extensively with international students on a home campus all represent further opportunities for different perspectives to develop. The perceptions and beliefs expressed in the preceding section on being international could likewise contribute to different perspectives. Making international connections at a conference, for example, could offer an individual librarian a unique opportunity to perceive advantages or disadvantages of engaging in librarianship outside of home practice. Working on a collaborative international project could also offer a librarian a way to perceive different cultures and different practices. Beliefs such as “we should all acknowledge that we have an aspect of international librarianship to our work” may then arise from these experiences. The environment a librarian experiences or has experienced, as well as their own perceptions of it, can thus probably result in responses that are personally significant but individually different from librarian to librarian. The end comment from the personal definitions above, to start talking less about international librarianship and more about international libraries, is also worth considering in some more detail. The point made by this participant was that perhaps the work of libraries is a more important consideration than the role or perception of the importance of librarianship. That is indeed a valid point. Librarians do not work in a vacuum. If there were no such institution as a library, the consideration of librarianship would be empty. I acknowledge as well that the work of libraries is a bigger question that the work of librarians. However, my intent in this book is to offer a starting point. I am beginning with a look at how librarians think their own duties, roles, or responsibilities reflect or interact with the idea of internationalization within the practice of the profession. A bigger question certainly is, then, what does that mean for library work in general, for all the staff who work in libraries, not just librarians? I leave that question open as a way to delve further into the topic of internationalization and libraries in the future.

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Patterns of Responses The importance of remembering the uniqueness of responses to personal definitions of international librarianship does not preclude the added importance of seeing patterns of responses. Identifying patterns can help us view what practicing librarians see as the most important aspects of international librarianship. Instead of viewing unique individual responses and patterns as an either/or interpretation, then, I believe that considering both perspectives as equally valid can potentially add to our understanding of what international librarianship means to the profession. Patterns did emerge across these responses. Geographical markers (working in a library in a different country, for example) were common and easily identifiable as one very recognizable way to define international librarianship. Another common type of response emphasized the place of connections or collaborations (working with librarians across borders, and working together on projects with an international scope). And the third type of common response appeared to involve attitudes and self-belief (seeing work with international students in a home library as a form of international librarianship, and seeing ourselves as already doing international work through day-to-day library work). Each of these patterns is considered briefly. Geographic markers are the most easily discernible pattern. Experiences such as “taking a study trip to Italy” and “setting up libraries in Kenya” illustrate the geographic context of a personal definition such as “engaging in activities that directly involve interacting with librarians in places located outside of a person’s country of origin.” Personal definitions such as “It is more than just being a librarian in our native country” emphasize the importance of working, traveling, or interacting with others beyond our own geographic locale. Further comments such as “Working internationally (not in your native country)” and “Traveling as a librarian to international conferences” further emphasize the need to move beyond a geographic location. The locale can seemingly be virtual as well as physical, and can include welcoming librarians from outside our own geographic location into ours, as seen in definitions like “Interacting with librarians from other countries either virtually, or those who are visiting the US.” It is interesting to note that the most common geographic marker seen in the personal responses was the nation or country, typically the United States. Given that many of the participants were American, it is not surprising that the notion of “outside the United States” was a common pattern: “Connecting/networking/working/exchanging ideas with librarians from other countries and with those here in the US who also consider themselves

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international librarians.” An “inside the United States” pattern was evident as well in some definitions: “Working with international students on US campuses, acquainting them to the academic/academic library culture and sources of information in the United States.” Connections and collaborations were a second common pattern among the personal definitions of international librarianship. This pattern can be seen in responses offering definitions that include the idea of working with other librarians across borders, whether physically or virtually. Personal definitions such as “Connecting, collaborating with librarians around the world,”“Networking and sharing across cultures and across borders,” and “A librarian who has working/collegial/active relationships with librarians outside of the country of origin” display this pattern very directly. The idea of sharing information also fits into this pattern of connecting and collaborating: “The willingness of any librarians, anywhere, to share their knowledge and expertise with colleagues in other countries in a timely manner.” Sharing information can include working with researchers and students abroad as well: “Knowing how to provide appropriate and sensitive research support and training to this demographic [international researchers].” Attitudes and self-belief are a third pattern among personal definitions of international librarianship.The strongest statement of this is “Thinking of ourselves as international.” This definition puts how we see ourselves as the major factor in international librarianship. Another example of this pattern can be seen in the comment “Trying to bring an international perspective into my country.” This remark is particularly intriguing because it seems to see international librarianship as more of a mindset than a particular set of practices. And the comment that “I’d make the case that everything ’librarianship’ is now international” displays a belief that how we look at the world is the best way to define international librarianship personally. The three patterns identified above correspond to different facets of international librarianship concerning “where,” “how,” and “why.” The “where” perspective puts a geographical marker on the response and sees international librarianship as something that occurs beyond national boundaries.These boundaries can be physical or virtual, but they suggest a crossing of borders. The borders in question are perceived as national, so these answers are rooted in a view that defines international as beyond the bounds of one’s own country of origin. The “how” perspective concentrates more on how connections and collaborations take place, not where they take place. These connections can be physical or virtual as well, but they emphasize working together.

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And the “why” perspective rests on the importance of attitude and selfbelief in defining international librarianship, more than where it takes place or how it is conducted. In this perspective, what the individual librarian thinks takes on the most importance. What individual librarians are deeply thinking in personal definitions of international librarianship is fascinating. The different definitions offered above, as well as how they can be interpreted, provide much evidence that international librarianship is complex and not easily defined by a “one-sizefits-all” approach. Instead, the richness of these personal definitions magnifies the need to consider more aspects of international librarianship beyond such definitions in an attempt to understand it more fully. To that end, the next section looks at librarian responses to the direct question “Do you consider yourself an international librarian?”

ARE YOU AN INTERNATIONAL LIBRARIAN? The question of how librarians personally define international librarianship may be further magnified by considering whether or not each participant already thinks of themselves as an international librarian.While this research study cannot provide statistically significant correlations between personal definitions and how librarians identify themselves, it can offer a potential glimpse into responses that could be related or at least add to our understanding of what international librarianship comprises. The vast majority of the participants did indeed think of themselves already as being international librarians. Their responses included unequivocal answers like “I am an international librarian,” “absolutely!” and “I have always thought of myself as an international librarian.” Other were less emphatic, but still showed an inclination to see themselves in that way: “I can say that I have international mindedness. Does this count?” and “I think so, to some degree, as I’ve traveled a bit and know some librarians in other countries, as well as having attended and participated in conferences in other countries.” The affirmative but less emphatic responses seemed to include some kind of rationale, as shown in the previous comment and remarks like “Yes, because it is in my job title,” and “I consider myself an international librarian primarily because I seek opportunities to work with librarians working in other countries and because of my ongoing mentoring relationship with a foreign librarian.” In contrast, only two participants indicated that they did not see themselves this way to any meaningful degree: “I don’t actually think of myself

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that way” and “I do not think so.” It is quite likely that the participants willing to be interviewed were keenly interested in this topic and had already thought about it or had experiences that they considered to be representative of international librarianship. The distinction between who did and who did not think of themselves as an international librarian was much more nuanced on the online survey, as indicated by a broader range of responses ranging from outright “no” to “I wish I could be.” Further examples of survey responses to this question include “I did not think so, until taking this survey,” “I am not sure, but I have worked in international contexts,” “I think I am in outlook and in practice,” “I’d like to be more involved!” “Sometimes, but not in my current job,” “definitely,” “I wouldn’t say it is part of my identity as a librarian although I have been a visiting librarian abroad,” “Does Canada count?” and “It depends on your definition.” This range of answers on the survey, from emphatic yes or no answers to answers that could be interpreted as possibly or maybe along with some qualifying statement, outright questions as to what would count, and answers that beg the question, again illustrate a wide range of librarian thoughts.This could be a reflection of a broad range of personal experiences or could show that some respondents had deeper thoughts or opinions about the topic than others. At any rate, the question of “Do you consider yourself an international librarian?” was not generally answered with a simple yes or no, but instead offered another potential way to understand a further aspect of the phenomenon of international librarianship.

LIBRARIAN ROLES IN INTERNATIONAL LIBRARIANSHIP In addition to personal definitions of international librarianship and a consideration of whether or not they thought of themselves as international librarians, the individual interviews offered a deeper view into what roles or types of library work the participants viewed as being international. The number of roles emerging from both the personal interviews and the survey comments was impressive. What was equally impressive was that most of these emerging roles took the form of functions rather than job titles. In other words, the type of work done seemed to define international librarian roles better than did specific job titles or job positions. Roles, then, are described here in terms of function. These functions include traveling and visiting, working, being a humanitarian, educating, leading, sharing global resources, and connecting

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virtually. The roles are librarians engaging in these functions as a form of librarianship (as a traveler, a visitor, etc.). What connects these functions to international librarianship is that each displays some sort of international aspect, such as working with people from another country or connecting information across countries. Each functional role to emerge is described briefly below, followed by a consideration of their meanings in the greater context of international librarianship.

Traveler/Visitor This role was the most commonly visible one when librarians thought most deeply about international librarianship. Whether or not participants had taken part in traveling to and visiting other libraries outside their own country themselves, they most often identified this role as an example of international librarianship. And some participants did indeed have extensive experience in this role: In 2005 I got a grant for a year long sabbatical. During this year, I lived over in Asia for a full year. I lived out of hostels, apartments, and hotels. I visited libraries from Indonesia to Malaysia. I covered 15 countries and visited 500 libraries during this year…I grew up with diversity in Los Angeles, to me it’s second nature. My work on the West Coast includes working with many international students from Pacific Rim countries – China, Korea, Japan, etc. This grant gave me the opportunity to see many libraries in their home countries.

Worker This role included librarians engaging in work experiences in libraries outside their own country. One participant offered details about an exchange program between librarians that perfectly illustrates the role: I was fortunate enough to participate in an international exchange with two other librarians in 2015. This exchange happened between Queensland University of Technology [in Australia] and Ryerson University [in Canada]. Our Australian colleague spent 12 months living in Toronto and 2 Canadian librarians split one year in Australia and spent six months each living and working in Brisbane. It took almost 2 years to sort out all of the paperwork to make the exchange happen in terms of exchange agreements between the two institutions and working visas for Australia but it was definitely all worth it. It was fantastic to spend a significant chunk of time immersed in the culture and work of an academic library on the other side of the planet. There were many similarities (i.e. budget cuts, demonstrating value, etc.) but also many differences both in terms of institutional culture and also services and priorities. Also, QUT, the library where I was based in Australia, has a significant international student population so in this way, I felt like an international librarian serving many global students.

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Other participants had paid positions in libraries abroad that were not exchanges but direct job placements following applications and interviews. One American participant got her first professional librarian position outside the United States after receiving her library degree: I never thought of international librarianship before I got my first job. I was looking for jobs outside of New Jersey. I was already looking at Alaska, so why not Kazakhstan? It was my first full time library job. I was there for two years, from 2013 to 2015…I had studied Russian in high school…Central Asia is not for everyone. There is a romantic view of new grads, but it is not as glamorous as people think… But my advice to other librarians would be, if possible, go abroad and experience it firsthand.

Humanitarian This role appeared in descriptions of librarians from developed nations working or volunteering with institutions or organizations in developing nations involved in some form of library work. One intriguing comment offered insights into some details of this type of work as well as its challenges: Opportunities to help build libraries and share skills and teach internationally are slim. I researched and traveled twice, with AFK – American Friends of Kenya. I volunteered on their library team (they also had medical and education). We set up libraries in Kenya and offered library skills instruction. The nonprofit established a network there, similar to our districts here. The results of our resources in particular, have resulted in higher test scores for students. The networks have created support systems. We also went into Kibera (3rd largest slum in the world/largest in Africa) and set up the library at SHOFCO – the only school (girls only) in the slum. I have presented on my trips twice at CSLA. There is NO funding available for critical trips like this through ALA, etc. The only funding I found was to attend an international conference.

Another survey comment stressed the role of humanitarians in a school library setting as well: “acting as a mentor to school librarians in developing and emerging countries and cooperating with aid organisations (NGS’s) to assist these people.”

Educator This role emerged across the interviews and was also widely seen as a common example of international librarianship. Most often it appeared in the form of practicing librarians supporting the professional development of librarians from other countries. One participant had in-depth experience in

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this role as the recipient of two separate Fulbright grants to teach abroad. His comments offered perspectives on why he chose to pursue these goals: I couldn’t travel on my own due to costs, so I sought out opportunities…This is a way to make a contribution and add to intercultural understanding. I know that other places are starved for professional contact, so it’s important for librarians to get involved in international work and share our expertise…The three most important reasons for me [to get involved in international librarianship] are one, a natural interest in other cultures, two, to make the world better, and three, to share expertise…I was awarded two Fulbright grants, one in 2005 to the Czech Republic and one in 2012 to Poland…I taught Library of Congress classification in Prague…LC can be adapted to local needs.

Further educator roles also surfaced, including numerous mentions of having presented at international conferences as a way to support the professional development of librarians across borders: I stepped in for another librarian who could not fulfill a speaking engagement for the Belarusian Library Association Conference in Minsk, in October 2011, supported with funding from the U.S. Embassy in Minsk. I spoke as the US representative at their main meeting, and then was asked to do workshops for a group of Belarusian public library librarians, for a subgroup of the Belarusian Library Association Conference, and a talk to a large group of undergraduate and graduate students at a university in Minsk. Conference attendees were from a number of different countries, including Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Africa. The conference language was Russian, and I had a Russian translator, as I do not speak or read Russian…It was quite fascinating to hear problems and issues raised that are common to librarians in many locations and types of institutions…

Leader This role emerged from librarian interviews with participants who were able to engage in international librarianship work at a higher managerial level due to either their own current positions or their abilities to network or connect with other librarians in leadership positions. One participant had a wealth of interesting experience to draw from as an example of international librarianship: One day I got a call from ALA about a USAID grant to bring international librarians to the US…. A Bulgarian librarian who had applied to work in the State Library of Colorado was able to come for 5 months. A report on continuing education for librarians in Colorado was completed, and she went back to Bulgaria…I then went to Turkey and Bulgaria myself…I got a State Department grant after that to establish a partnership to teach Bulgarian librarians how to have their libraries become community centers…This was so successful that it came to the attention of the Gates Foundation…I am a state librarian so I can make things like this happen. I can sign off and take the lead. Leadership makes a huge difference.

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Virtual Connector Although a less common role than those listed above, this one did emerge from the interviews and survey comments. One participant who had traveled extensively, having just come back from Qatar, noted that “a richer connectivity” could now give others, who perhaps are not able to travel as easily, a different way to engage in international librarianship: [Technology] can be an increasingly valuable substitute, it would allow other librarians to participate without incurring all the expenses for travel…Librarianship is a changing landscape, a moving target…The nature of partnerships are changing as well, it’s not just people in the next office, but all over. It expands the notion of community…Technology can provide tools to enhance this…It can create community within the profession.

The role of the librarian as someone who can connect virtually with others beyond their own country was echoed in comments in the survey: “Connecting with colleagues from other countries and participating in projects without leaving your desk is doable thanks to technology.” Survey comments included some excellent concrete examples of librarians functioning as virtual connectors: “Web access would allow for contact without travel. The SUNY [State University of New York] system is developing COIL courses (http://coil.suny.edu/page/about-coil-0) in which librarians could be embedded and work with the librarian at the partner institution,” “I participate in the International Librarians Network,” and “I write The Traveling Librarian, a blog devoted to international librarianship.” Librarians also appear to be at the forefront of new tools and technology currently being developed that can help spread information throughout the world: “I find this very exciting: https://outernet.is/.”

Global Resource Sharer This was discernible as an international librarian role in the interviews and comments. It includes work in both global collection building and resource sharing as ways of practicing international librarianship. Global collection building can be seen in comments that identify international librarianship through working as “subject or liaison librarians, especially those responsible for area studies (like Judaica, Slavica, Western European languages, Latin America, etc.); catalogers/acquisitions involved in those areas” and “Using our special and area studies collections to attract and network with librarians interested in the same areas and special collections.Working on digital projects that benefit international constituents and patrons.”

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Resource sharing can be seen in comments that describe particular international sharing programs, such as “We have a Spanish–English book exchange program with a public library in Irun, Spain and our public library.” Resource sharing can also be seen in the work of school librarians in international school settings: “Librarians help spread access to information, train users regardless of culture, creed, and nationality. Librarians who work in international schools and cultural centres play a crucial role in promoting equal access to reading materials and online resources.” Travelers, visitors, workers, volunteers, humanitarians, educators, leaders, virtual connectors, global resource sharers—these functional librarian roles all emerged from individual librarians thinking deeply about international librarianship.The variety of different functional roles attests to the multifaceted nature of understandings of international librarianship. The next section considers meanings of roles in international librarianship.

MEANING OF ROLES The functional roles identified above rest on different initial meanings, understandings, or interpretations of what participants thought roles in international librarianship comprised.A number of different meanings were associated with either the importance or the appearance of these roles. Some of these meanings provided examples of roles, others stated that roles were not an important consideration in international librarianship, others noted that there was no one role best suited to international librarianship, and still others saw international librarianship as equaling the entire profession of librarianship. The meaning of roles was sometimes interpreted as inextricably bound up with resources, or lack thereof, as in comments such as “Library directors seem to have access to lots of funding for international travel, and many take advantage of it, and they often get to decide on their own release time and funding support,” and “Solo and smaller libraries have less to offer, less time, less resources, staff, etc.” As noted in Chapter 3, the way I posed the question on roles in the survey (“Which library positions do you think are most involved with international librarianship?”) may have been misleading by suggesting that perhaps international librarianship was limited to particular roles.This potential negative bias toward roles that might not be organizational library leadership roles could account for the responses citing lack of resources noted here. Other interpretations did offer specific titles or job duties as examples of roles most compatible with international librarianship. These comments included examples of roles through job titles or positions such as “school

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librarians,” “Special collections and access librarians,” “librarians who are involved in global literacy instruction,” “catalogers,” “reference librarians,” “subject and liaison librarians,” “LIS professors and researchers,” “US librarians who work with immigrant populations,” “interlibrary loan staff,” “library consultants,” “recent graduates participating in short-term placements and volunteer opportunities,” and “retired librarians.” As can be seen, these examples run the gamut across all types of library work, from public services to technical services to work involving different populations and different types of research and services. As such, they further emphasize the notion that any librarian could potentially be involved in international librarianship. The strongest meaning associated with roles, however, posits that there is no one unique role that lends itself best to international librarianship. This interpretation permeated both individual participant interviews and further comments on the survey. A number of librarians seemed to have quite strong opinions about it, suggesting that tacking the role of international librarian to just one particular role or job description or set of daily librarian practices was too restrictive. Comments that reflect this view included “It can be anyone,” “There is no one position,” “I think that anyone in any type of library can be involved,” “Anyone can have an impact regardless of their status,” and “I don’t think it is specific positions but specific individuals.” A final meaning expanded the notion that there is no one best role to the even wider notion that international librarianship equals the entire profession.These views included comments such as “I am sure most of a librarian’s work is international. I am saying that most library work deals with knowledge and resources…,” “…everything ’librarianship’ is now international,” and “Perhaps one day we will no longer need the word ’international’ in front of it and it will be implied that librarians are international professionals who share information freely across borders.” A further subset of these responses expanded their answers beyond the whole profession of librarianship into the realm of human beings. This perspective connects roles in international librarianship to “…anyone interested in expanding their circle of global and multicultural contacts and understanding,” and offers thoughts such as “…in the end we can all learn from each other” and “international awareness is a human condition.” The meaning of roles that practicing librarians associate with international librarianship is a topic that cannot be easily answered by fitting answers into a preselected set of categories, much as was done on the survey. Instead, it is a question that can be answered at many levels, in many

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different ways. Roles, in general, are too restrictive a way in which to view international librarianship. Specific job titles and job functions, in particular, can only partially illuminate this question. Seeing roles less as job descriptions (liaison librarian, library director…) and more as the types of functional work categories that emerged from participant interviews (traveler, humanitarian, educator…) opens up a deeper understanding of international librarianship. Other meanings of roles that move beyond a description of what types of work or functions they employ included the idea that no role is exclusive. In other words, one librarian can play more than one role in international librarianship. One participant, for example, described international librarianship as “an option of many possibilities,” while another noted that “we all need to share knowledge and skills in many ways.” This multiplicity of roles also supports the more functional view of working categories. A humanitarian, for example, could be either a reference librarian or a cataloger. Similarly, an educator could be an LIS professor or an instruction librarian working with immigrants. Looking at roles more broadly, in a functional way, gives more meaning to practicing librarians about what international librarianship is than does looking at roles more narrowly, through the lens of job positions or titles. The broadest view of all even sees the notion of “role” itself as being inadequate as a way to understand international librarianship: It’s not a ’role’, it’s a way of looking at the profession and out into the world. Maybe I think this way because I work in an international school and this has to be our perspective, both global and local, because where we work is not necessarily where we are from.

The meaning of roles examined in this chapter also reflects themes that came from the document analysis in Chapter 2: connections, education, and service. All three themes appear in the various manifestations of roles discussed in this chapter. Connections can be seen in all the functional roles. A traveler, for example, can connect ideas of how librarianship is practiced at home and abroad. A global resource sharer can connect needed information to the population who needs it. Likewise, education is a prevalent theme. An educator, of course, is engaged in the very act of education, no matter what form that takes, such as educating others about Library of Congress subject classifications or on how to make a public library a community center. And service can be seen in the functional role of a humanitarian, who can help to support or sustain learning by supplying resources, financial assistance, or training. These three themes appear as strong strands throughout the

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discussion of librarian roles, potentially because they act as professional pillars of practice for many librarians. Two final topics were mentioned sufficiently and in enough depth by individual librarians thinking deeply about international librarianship to warrant inclusion in this chapter: whether or not international librarianship ought to be part of graduate library education, and what the role of English in international librarianship should be. Each is considered briefly in the concluding sections.

SHOULD INTERNATIONAL LIBRARIANSHIP BE A COURSE IN LIBRARY SCHOOL? The document analysis in Chapter 2 offered descriptions of courses designated as “international librarianship” as online document examples of potential international librarianship practices. The question of whether or not international librarianship should be part of the formal curriculum of graduate library school education surfaced in the interviews and survey comments as well. Practicing librarians offered several perspectives on this question, including necessity of inclusion, thoughts about the value of such a course in graduate library education, and views on professional development. Ambivalence was the strongest reaction as to whether or not international librarianship needed to be studied through a formal course in library school. I use the term “ambivalence” here to mean “both yes and no” and not “I don’t care.” The majority of responses reflected this divided sense, with fewer responses registering directly affirmative as “yes, of course” or directly negative as “no, absolutely not.” The examples below illustrate both the range of responses and the many variations of “both yes and no.” The less numerous “yes” comments favored its inclusion generally on grounds that “it would support cultural diversity, openness, and the sense of belonging to a rich and diverse community” and “we live in a globalized information world and understanding and working with other cultures is necessary.” Several “yes” comments rooted their answers in a home library perspective: Yes, definitely, especially for academic librarianship. More and more students are coming from foreign countries to study at U.S. (and Canadian) universities. We need to know how to support them appropriately. We can also learn about best practices in librarianship by doing some comparative analysis.

Likewise, the “no” comments were fewer in number. Most related to practical concerns—“It wouldn’t apply to everyone,” and “There are not

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enough people qualified to teach it,”—although some expressed cultural reservations as well: “It is too US-centric” and “I’m not sure American librarians are interested in this.” The more numerous ambivalent comments offered insights that suggested hesitancy because of the subject potentially being a requirement that could crowd out other choices: “We have so many fundamental courses that are being dropped. I think it should be offered as a part of an introductory course and/or library management course. Alternatively, electives/seminars would be great.” Other comments in this vein gave further suggestions of where the content could be placed in the curriculum: I’m not sure it should warrant a course (I suppose it could work as an elective); however, I do believe room should be made, say, in an introduction course (or wherever library ethics are introduced) to compare codes of ethics and how they reflect library practice and information culture as opposed to American librarianship.

Further hesitance over a mandatory course came from the idea that it might be better learned through practice on the job: “I’m not sure—there may be ’on the job’ opportunities to incorporate international librarianship for different librarians—it would be disappointing to be required to learn about something that you never are able to put into practice.” Other ambivalent comments offered different places to learn about international perspectives: “…school cannot teach us everything. Most US library schools have international/study abroad offices, who can be used as resources for interested students.” And others suggested the incorporation of community service instead could fill the curriculum: Since I am a school librarian, I think it will be beneficial for schools to have international librarianship practices to support education. However, doing community services can be a vision statement for the school itself. Things such as reading habits and/or social literacy are important for developing countries, in this case, Indonesia. That is the big picture I have in mind.

Some ambivalent comments reflected the idea that instead of being a mandatory discrete course, international librarianship should infuse all courses across the curriculum: “There is no one-size ’international librarianship,’ just as ’global studies’ cannot supplant studies/knowledge of particular world regions. Rather, teach intercultural communication and values.” The most far-ranging comment reflecting ambivalence (i.e., not a distinct “yes” or “no” answer) affirmed the importance of values imparted in

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library school decades ago to a need to connect these ideas to a newer generation of librarians: …I think the kind of professional philosophy, values and ’socialization’ that were part of what I learned from my MLS curriculum and teachers decades ago (think First Amendment; Thomas Jefferson: ’A democratic society depends upon an informed and educated citizenry’; the Carnegie public library; and the universal nature of the community of scholars) is still valid. It just needs to be translated into the register of this generation of professionals.

The ranges of comments, thoughts, ideas, and opinions as to whether or not international librarianship should be taught through a course in library school again astounded me. Librarians as a group are deep thinkers, even on such a seemingly mundane topic as required graduate coursework. The knowledge that these answers came from both self-professed new librarians and professionals who have been practicing librarianship for many years further enriches these answers. It points once again to the multifaceted nature of what international librarianship currently means or can mean in the future to practicing librarians.

WHAT SHOULD THE ROLE OF ENGLISH BE IN INTERNATIONAL LIBRARIANSHIP? The last question that reflected deeper thinking of individual librarians concerns the role of the English language in international librarianship. The survey responses in Chapter 3 reflect much initial ambivalence about this topic as well. Instead of a “yes or no” division, however, as with incorporating a course in library school, the ambivalence about English in the survey fell more along the lines of “yes” and “it depends.” The follow-up personal interviews continued this pattern of ambivalence but offered some insight into the “it depends” response first noted in the survey. A deeper consideration of the role of English on the part of participants in the interviews and survey comments evoked numerous and varying responses. The majority of these, however, gave extenuating circumstances as the reason for their answer, mostly noting the already dominant position of English in the discourse of all international scholarship: “English is the lingua franca now,” “English is becoming more common worldwide as the language utilized in conferences and papers,” and “English is the global language.” Other responses noted that English was already an accepted language of instruction as well as the workplace in many places in the world: “English was the language of instruction at this

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university in Central Asia” and “English is often the working language of work situations abroad.” One dissenting response, however, should be noted, contradicting this sense that English is already the de facto language for scholarship: “Hey, all librarians should know at least something of a language other than English, and appreciate that not all scholarship in the world is produced in English!” Many responses considered knowledge of languages other than English for international librarianship to be welcome but not mandatory: “It is not necessary but it makes it more interesting, and it can open doors” and “Speaking another language is not necessary, but nice. I am jealous of those who can…being monolingual is my only regret.” In contrast to the majority of responses that indicated foreign language knowledge is nice but not necessary, several answers unabashedly affirmed that all librarians interested in practicing international librarianship should know more languages than English: “Absolutely. Language skills and intercultural knowledge open doors,” “If the librarian is working in the US, it may be helpful to know a few social phrases. If the librarian is working in a non-English-speaking country, s/he would certainly want to know that country’s language,” and “Everyone, but especially these librarians, should know at least one other language.” A few of the dissenting answers situated their replies in the context of a particular library setting, specifically that of an international school: Recent research shows that children have requested books in their own language, about things which they are familiar with. This makes knowledge of languages other than English essential. Also it is a myth to believe that all librarians (e.g. in Europe) speak and read English. This is confirmed by the ENSIL (European Network for School Librarianship and Information Literacy) experiences.

Another very practical perspective noted that native English speakers do have more opportunities now to learn other languages than in the past: “We can lean languages in home settings on phone apps, for example” and these efforts can “enhance, not replace” face-to-face contact. Other responses advocated potential on-the-job learning of other languages as well: It would help. I don’t think that ’should’ is the correct word. It is a barrier. I am interested in international librarianship, and don’t know any other languages besides English. Does that make me a bad person, unfit for the job, so to speak? As with so much of librarianship, you will have to learn new things on the job, as the knowledge gaps pertaining to your specific situation are exposed.

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In addition to offering ways to potentially learn other languages, some answers offered cultural perspectives: It is ethnocentric to expect all persons to speak English, but English is the language of business. I think it’s helpful for librarians to know another language, recognizing that there are many opportunities to learn said language (through short-term immersive language programs, apps like Duolingo, etc.).

And another set of responses posited that cultural knowledge was more important than knowing another language: “It is helpful, but cultural awareness and international experience are probably more valuable,” and “…the level of linguistic fluency is secondary to cultural awareness. True bilingualism is a high standard to reach for all librarians involved in some way with international librarianship.” A fear of not being able to participate in international librarianship as a result of needing to know more languages than English was also present in the responses: “It would help and most librarians tend to have studied languages. However, a requirement would close the door to interested librarians.” These various responses illustrate quite nicely once again that practicing librarians hold a variety of opinions and thoughts about the importance of English in international librarianship. The large number of comments on the survey opened the door to examining this topic in more depth in the interviews. Keeping in mind that about half of the survey respondents and 19 of the 25 interview participants were American, cultural perspectives cannot be ruled out as a way to explain most of the “it depends” responses as connected to a “nice, but not necessary” outlook. The “nice, but not necessary” responses, however, also mostly advocated for viewing additional language knowledge as valuable. In this respect, it seems that a majority of practicing libraries view knowing another language besides English as a positive attribute for international librarianship. The minority of dissenting opinions that strongly advocated knowing more languages than English as a necessary part of international librarianship also highlights the importance of foreign language knowledge, albeit to a further degree. So it would appear that it being “nice” to know more languages than English for international librarianship is a point on which almost all practicing librarians agree.Where opinions diverge is on whether or not it is “necessary” to do so in order to be considered an international librarian. Another point of convergence seems to center around the idea of multiculturalism. No dissenting opinion surfaced in this research study that perceived awareness of or interactions with other cultures to be a negative trait

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in international librarianship. In fact, just the opposite: support for multicultural perspectives was evident throughout. This again may be an issue of bias. Practicing librarians interested in international librarianship probably have already formed positive impressions of the importance of cultural awareness both across multiple cultures (multiculturalism) and between or within certain cultures (intercultural awareness). A deeper look into these perspectives across a wider spectrum of practicing librarians could potentially offer further reasons for its apparent support within librarianship. In the context of international librarianship, however, multicultural and intercultural perspectives seem to be much valued. I do acknowledge the irony of conducting a research study in English and then asking for opinions on the use of English. This context precludes respondents from answering in any language other than English, and privileges those who already know it. The role of the English language in international librarianship is multifaceted, as with the preceding topics examined in this chapter. The array of thoughts and beliefs expressed about language knowledge and use lends itself once again to supporting a many-layered view of what international librarianship means to practicing librarians.

SUMMARY What librarians are thinking about international librarianship is fascinating. The qualitative responses from the individual personal interviews and the comments from the online survey provided the raw data for this chapter. In reporting what librarians thought most deeply about, the first summarization must note the wide range of responses. In short, there is no simple and easy answer to what practicing librarians think international librarianship is. Instead, the chapter shows a wide range of responses that reflect varying personal backgrounds, individual circumstances, and differing attitudes. These all point to the need to remember that international librarianship can be understood and experienced uniquely by different individuals. Some patterns in responses did emerge, however, and might offer a more cohesive way to view some general understandings of international librarianship. These patterns include geographic markers, connections and collaborations, and attitudes and self-beliefs. Geographic markers refer to the idea of “where” as being outside a librarian’s own country as a way to experience international librarianship. This includes seeing work and study trips abroad as a strong expression of being an international librarian. Connections

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and collaborations refer to the idea of “how” as another way to engage in international librarianship. This perspective emphasizes the nature of librarians working together across borders on projects, through networking and collection sharing and building, as ways to engage in international librarianship. The third pattern to emerge coalesced around “why” as an important aspect to consider, emphasizing the need to stress the importance of attitudes or beliefs in international librarianship. Examples of the “why” perspective include understanding one’s own work in a bigger whole, promoting intercultural understanding, and thinking of oneself already as an international librarian. The importance of functions rather than job titles was another compelling finding to emerge. Practicing librarians put less store in official job titles or designated roles within a library organization as definitive markers of international librarianship than expected. In other words, although “library director” might suggest a librarian more able to participate in international librarianship due to more available funding or resources, this chapter does not bear this assumption out. Instead, practicing librarians see international librarianship as a much more open playing field, believing that any librarian can participate. This idea underscores the myriad of librarian functions that surfaced in this research to reflect many different ways that a librarian can engage in international librarianship: traveling, visiting, working, volunteering, being a humanitarian, educating, leading, virtual connecting, and global resource sharing. The functional roles can then be seen as librarians performing these functions in roles such as travelers, visitors, volunteers, etc. With none of these functions is tied inextricably to any particular librarian job, this suggests that international librarianship is open to practicing librarians in many ways conducive to engagement. The meaning of the functional roles noted above reflects the themes found in the document survey in Chapter 2—connections, education, and service. Librarians connecting across borders, librarians supporting students and researchers across borders, and librarians engaging in collection sharing and building across borders all figure strongly in the identified functional roles of travelers, workers, virtual connectors, global resource sharers, etc. Perhaps this is not surprising, given that connections, education, and service seem to be pillars of librarianship, at least as found in documents of practice. Their extension across borders, whether physical or virtual, simply expands these potential pillars of practice beyond the confines of one’s own library. These findings on functional roles support the idea that international librarianship can be practiced in many forms. What the forms have in

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common is some international aspect or sense of crossing borders. Traveling, visiting, working, or studying in a library abroad entails the physical crossing of real national borders. Being a humanitarian, educating, and leading contain international aspects if they involve librarians in different countries working with each other, or librarians supporting students, patrons, faculty, or staff in other countries.The international aspects of connecting virtually and sharing global resources can also be forms of international librarianship if they include building collections or the sharing of information across borders. It is the international aspect of these various forms of librarian work that can let them be seen or understood as types of international librarianship. As to whether or not international librarianship should be taught in library school, this chapter illustrated the ambivalence that practicing librarians feel about this topic. Ambivalence as used here signifies a range of responses, rather than an attitude of not caring. The range seen here traversed the whole gamut from yes to no, with most librarians falling in the maybe area. Varying beliefs, such as whether or not international librarianship can be explicitly taught or should be dispersed throughout the curriculum, underscored much of the ambiguity. In general, however, the answers to this question provide further evidence that practicing librarians view the formal study of librarianship, much like its practice, to be full of different possibilities for its expression. The role of English, the last topic tackled in this chapter, further reinforces the myriad possibilities that practicing librarians see in international librarianship. While offering ambivalence on this topic too, librarians interested in international librarianship see many different reasons for both acknowledging the place of English as a global language and the need to understand local practices and cultures better. The depth of feeling on this particular issue was astounding to me. It seemed to reveal some deeply felt thoughts not only on the role and use of English but also on American perspectives in international librarianship (i.e., the potential perhaps to consider other perspectives as well). Practicality, another potential hallmark of librarianship, appeared here in the need to consider where and how a librarian might be engaged in international librarianship in order to consider fully the use of English in any particular setting or circumstance. Taken together, these patterns and findings strongly display the multifaceted nature of international librarianship. This suggests a richness of understanding. Rather than offering a simplified or trite definition of international librarianship, this chapter instead shows that practicing librarians are thinking deeply about what it means in all its varying manifestations.

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The information presented in the last two chapters offers a rich treasure trove of data from which to investigate, uncover, and identify overall patterns that can coalesce and turn into research findings. The findings that emerge from analysis of the quantitative and qualitative information presented in these last two chapters results in three main findings arising from this study: that international librarianship can take many forms, that international librarianship includes internationalization at home, and that a deeper understanding of international librarianship requires reframing. The following chapters examine in more depth each of these findings, and represent the core research analysis of this book.

CHAPTER 5

The Many Forms of International Librarianship Abroad and at Home The first finding of the research study at the core of this book is that international librarianship can take many forms. For those librarians already involved in its practice, this may come as no surprise. Indeed, this finding rather serves to underscore the multifaceted nature of the practice of international librarianship. The new information that this chapter presents consists of two parts.The first part provides examples offered by librarians in the research study of forms of international librarianship. I have divided these forms into two separate lists, one showing examples of forms of international librarianship that can be put into practice abroad, and the other showing examples of forms that can be put into practice at home. The examples in both lists are briefly supplemented with comments from the research study to offer some evidence of why they appear in the listings. Given the nature of the research study, however, particular practices were not examined in any depth and this chapter can offer these forms of practices only as brief examples. It cannot describe them in great detail nor give interested librarians explicit information about how to engage in them. For more in-depth description and analysis, further research would need to be carried out. The second part of the chapter addresses some considerations to keep in mind when perusing these examples. This section is meant to convey the overall sense that no one type of practice is inherently better or more illustrative of international librarianship than any other. In other words, the primacy of working abroad as a librarian is not the only experience that can be understood as the practice of international librarianship, nor is it the necessarily the best way. Instead, it represents one form of practice among many forms that comprise international librarianship. International Librarianship at Home and Abroad ISBN 978-0-08-101896-5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101896-5.00005-3

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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FORMS OF INTERNATIONAL LIBRARIANSHIP ABROAD The following examples originate from what the research study participants identified as forms of international librarianship abroad. They are examples only, and not an exhaustive list of all the practices that comprise international librarianship abroad. They are also subject to error or misinterpretation, since they were often given as snippets of comments without any further explanations. Noting all these constraints, then, I offer them here as general examples of the types of library work which appear to illustrate various forms of international librarianship that can be practiced abroad. Both this list and the following list later in the chapter are not arranged in any topical or alphabetical order. Instead, they are listed chronologically in the order in which they appeared during the course of the research. These lists are also not organized by type of librarian or library either (academic, public, school, government, corporate, etc.). And since the lists in this chapter are meant to serve only as examples, they should therefore not be construed as a list of value judgments. This means not interpreting them, for example, as lists of best to worst forms, or even as lists of common to less common forms of international librarianship.

Working in a Library Abroad This practice had the greatest number of occurrences, which says to me that it is a commonly known and widely accepted form of international librarianship. The number of comments received seems to support this view, as well as the information these comments contained. Particular examples given often included names of countries where librarians had worked, along with some hints as to whether or not the respondent came from inside or outside the United States:“working in Italy, the Netherlands and the US as a German librarian,” “working as a Canadian librarian in a library in Qatar,” “getting my first full-time library job in Kazakhstan,” “living and working in Switzerland, but it is not my home country,” and “working at a United Nations library.” Other respondents offered an impressively wide range of personal library experiences abroad as examples of international librarianship: “I worked as a library assistant in a university library in Canada…I volunteered at libraries in Germany” and “I have been working in the library sector in another country outside my home country for more than 10 years.”

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Working in an International School Library International school librarians formed a very interesting core of respondents to the online survey. They considered their daily work to be international librarianship practiced abroad. A number of their comments offered perspectives on working with students from many nations in one school setting, and providing library resources and services to this varied population. Some comments gave clues as to the type of clientele served by the library, such as “working in an international school library where 60% of the population is expat.” Others saw “working on all school projects in this setting” as a form of international librarianship abroad because it required the use of many multilingual and multicultural resources. And others noted that “where we work is not where we are from” in seeing their form of librarianship practiced abroad.

Conducting a Study Travel Trip to Libraries Abroad Arranging and taking part in a study trip to visit and observe libraries abroad are another well-known form of participating in international librarianship. The survey respondents offered a number of examples of traveling to and observing libraries abroad, and then engaging in reflections about similarities and differences in home library settings after returning. Examples of this form of international librarianship include “taking study trips to Italy and South Korea,”“using a year-long sabbatical grant to travel to 15 countries and 500 libraries throughout Asia,” and “conducting a study tour of Scandinavian libraries.”

Using or Visiting Libraries Abroad Rather than taking part in a formal, planned research study trip abroad, as in the previous example, this form differed by encompassing more spontaneous and informal visits to libraries in other countries. Comments to support this form include “I have been a visiting librarian abroad,”“making international connections when I was a student in Norway,” and “spending time visiting/working in overseas libraries.” In addition, those who had studied abroad as students before becoming librarians sometimes saw their use of libraries abroad in this capacity as a sort of precursor to practicing international librarianship, seen in comments such as “I studied in England and used libraries there.”

Participating in Library Study Programs Abroad Another type of study abroad as a form of international librarianship is participation by practicing librarians in formal library programs taking place overseas. Comments offering evidence of this form include “participating in

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a study program in Austria for 6 weeks” and “learning about libraries in China in a program for librarians.”

Taking Part in Library Exchange Programs Abroad Exchange programs where working librarians swap places with each other in their respective workplaces also appeared as a form of practicing international librarianship abroad. Comments such as “participating in an international librarian exchange between Canada and Australia” could not fully convey the details of such an experience. Sometimes, however, further hints came in direct comments that offered variations of “I arranged an exchange” to indicate that these exchanges came about in self-initiated ways.

Conducting Library Research Abroad This form of practicing international librarianship abroad surfaced several times in the survey. Comments such as “I have studied German and Norwegian libraries there” and more directly “I carried out library research in other countries” offered this form as an interesting example of practicing international librarianship in settings far from home.

Teaching Librarianship Abroad Some survey and interview participants shared very high-level personal experiences of engaging in international librarianship abroad. A survey comment on “getting Fulbright grants to the Czech Republic and Poland” was later elucidated in a participant interview to describe the teaching of librarianship to students abroad in various settings. This is undoubtedly a form that not many practicing librarians might be able to engage in, but it does speak to intriguing possibilities of the various ways and places in which it can occur.

Creating or Supporting Libraries in Developing Nations Some of the most dramatic examples of practicing international librarianship abroad that I found in the survey had to do with the creation of brandnew libraries in developing nations. One respondent, for example, offered information about “setting up libraries in Kenya” that was accompanied by a high level of detail about the collaborating organizations and schools in Kenya. Other comments, such as “acting as a mentor to school librarians in developing and emerging countries and cooperating with aid organizations to assist these people,” set an equally collaborative tone.

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Working With International Development Organizations Abroad Continuing with the example of working with aid organizations in developing nations, other projects beyond the creation of new libraries were cited as forms of international librarianship abroad. Some of these comments were tied to particular locales, such as “working with international development organizations in South Africa,” while others were more broadly sweeping in terms of library work abroad, such as “I have worked in several international organizations, on many international projects and with many librarians from many countries.”

Doing a Library Internship Abroad This form appeared as a unique example in the survey. Internships seems to imply a library school student going abroad to work in a library in another country, presumably in a graduate student capacity, and then returning to a home setting to put what was learned to good use. Comments such as “doing an internship in a US library, then taking back home what I learned” may speak to this form of participation in international librarianship abroad.

Speaking at/Attending Library Conferences Abroad A number of survey respondents offered speaking engagements or attendance at library conferences abroad as a form of international librarianship practice, although a minority of others disagreed that this was any type of international librarianship. Comments in support of this form outnumbered comments against it. Supporting comments often gave details of particular places or associations, such as “speaking at a Belarussian Library Association conference,” “attending IFLA [International Federation of Library Associations] conferences around the world,” “presenting at international public library conferences,” and “I attend the EAHIL [European Association for Health Information and Libraries] congress every 2 years.”

Networking With Library and Information Science Researchers Abroad This form also seemed to be a unique contribution. Comments such as “meeting LIS [library and information science] professionals in whichever country I visit—Singapore, Kenya, Tanzania, Dubai, Bahrain, Australia, etc.”, however, do seem to offer an additional way to put international librarianship into practice abroad.

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Attending International Book Fairs Abroad I offer this form as separate from attending conferences abroad because it was explicitly mentioned several times by different survey respondents and seems to point to a very particular type of international librarianship experience abroad. Comments such as “attending international book fairs in Madrid and Guadalajara, Mexico” and “attending book fairs in the Middle East to learn more” seem to offer a particular way to engage in international librarianship abroad that goes beyond working in or visiting libraries through self-arranged means.

FORMS OF INTERNATIONAL LIBRARIANSHIP AT HOME As with the examples above, this second list also represents a wide variety of forms identified by research participants as ways to engage in international librarianship. The distinguishing characteristic of this list, however, is that it represents the “at home” aspect of practice. In other words, the participants in the study offered all these examples as forms they believe represent ways that international librarianship can be engaged in through a home setting. The upcoming chapters of this book discuss aspects of the potential meanings of these examples in more depth; the purpose of the list here is to introduce various forms identified by research participants that differ in setting from those forms offered above.

Training International Librarians This type of international librarianship is a high-level form of practice in at home setting. Practices such as “getting a State Department grant to establish a partnership to teach Bulgarian libraries how to become community centers” imply not only sufficient resources, but also the appropriate knowledge, skill, and will to put them into action plans and then execute them. Another example of training programs brings “librarians from all over the world to our campus for professional development” purposes. Because these programs take place in a home setting, however, they can potentially be said to constitute forms of international librarianship practiced at home.

Mentoring International Librarians A more individualized form of practicing international librarianship at home can be found in mentoring. A series of comments on the survey offered

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examples such as “participating in the International Librarians Network online” and “engaging in a mentor/mentee relationship with a foreign librarian.”

Hosting International Librarians This form of international librarianship practice comprised librarians offering their home libraries to visiting librarians as places to observe and meet with their counterparts from other countries. Comments that show this form include “opening my library’s doors to librarians from the Caribbean” and “hosting international library visitors in my library.”

Meeting Visiting Librarians This form of practicing international librarianship at home is listed separately from the example above because it is not necessarily tied to one particular home library setting. Instead, these meetings could take place at a conference in a home country, as part of a tour of international visitors around a particular group of home libraries in a region, or through multiple other avenues tied to home library settings. Comments that show this form include “meeting librarians from Central and South America,” “meeting visiting librarians from New Zealand and the Ukraine,” and “meeting library tour groups.”

Supporting Study-Abroad Students This was an interesting form of international librarianship to surface from the survey. Comments such as “serving as the embedded librarian for studyabroad students” and “I support study abroad at my institution” indicate that librarians can see this type of service in a home setting as a form of international librarianship practice as well.

Working With International Students in Home Libraries This was a fairly common comment in both the online survey and the participant interviews. Details such as “20% of the students at my institution are ’international’—this is an important dimension of our profession” underscore the seemingly widespread notion in this research study that working with international students is a way to practice international librarianship at home. That many of these comments probably came from American librarians is not a surprise, since half the survey respondents came from the United States and the presence of many students who are not native English speakers in US libraries is very common.

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Working With International Scholars This form of international librarianship practiced at home is a variation of the one above, but targeted specifically to visiting researchers and not students. Comments such as “providing library assistance to Chinese professors doing research at our campus” offer evidence for its practice.

Conducting Webinars for Librarians Around the World What some librarians might construe as offering professional development, others may see as additionally practicing a form of international librarianship at home. Comments such as “conducting webinars for librarians in different countries” suggest this as a form of its practice.

Providing Virtual Reference Services This was a fairly frequent example offered in the comments sections of the online survey. Seen as a practice of librarians in home settings, it could also be potentially considered a form of international librarianship. An example is “providing virtual reference services to UK libraries abroad.”

Building Repositories to Share Information Globally Another example of a particular librarian practice, the creation of digital repositories open to the whole world, could also be viewed as practicing international librarianship at home. Comments such as “building opensource digital repositories to share information globally” suggest this view.

Sister-Cities Programs This is a very particular example that is probably uncontroversial to most librarians because it includes an explicit abroad component. Library programs with librarians in cities designated as partners by a particular municipality have been around for a while. Sharing resources, meeting virtually, and communicating and collaborating on library issues can be practiced at home by librarians connected through these municipal programs. Comments such as “taking part in sister-cities programs” are ripe with possibility for practicing international librarianship at home through this form.

Book-Exchange Programs This explicit example of an international librarianship practice at home deserves a separate mention because of its appearance in survey comments and its straightforward ability to speak to many librarians. Activities such as

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“participating in a book exchange with a public library in Spain” would presumably draw a lot of attention from librarians interested in participating in international librarianship because of their doable nature.

Conducting Library Research With Libraries Abroad This at-home practice is the converse of doing library research abroad.With the overwhelming amount of research available to a global audience online, this could be a form of international librarianship that can be engaged in by a wide audience of interested librarians. Comments such as “participating in an international investigation program, Mexico–Spain” may open this door to other librarians.

Offering English as a Second Language and Citizenship Classes Many public and academic librarians in the online survey and participant interviews described library practices such as these. That they were construed as forms of international librarianship practiced at home resonated in responses such as “working with international students at our university is definitely a form of international librarianship” and “providing ESL [English as a second language] and citizenship classes in the public library.”

Developing or Joining Clubs for International Students This form of practice was offered as an example of outreach, and also appeared as a way to practice international librarianship at home. Specific examples offered by participants included “becoming a member of the Indonesia Library Club at home” and “hosting and attending cultural club meetings with international students through the library.”

Creating Library Exhibits About Different Cultures This particular form of practicing international librarianship at home appeared in comments such as “mounting library exhibits and displays about different cultures” and “setting up book exhibits that showcase art, music and crafts from different countries around the world.”

Assisting International Researchers This form differs from working with international scholars listed above due to the location of the scholars/researchers. In the earlier example, visiting scholars from universities abroad were physically present in the home library setting. In this example, the librarian provides assistance to scholars from the

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home university who are conducting research overseas. An example of this is “providing library support to our faculty doing research abroad.”

Building International Collections This may or may not be a widely agreed-upon form of practicing international librarianship at home, but it did appear in this research study. Comments such as “building an international collection” and collections work if it is “continuous [and involves] sustained relationships and exchanges” far outnumbered comments such as “I don’t think collecting works from international locales is international librarianship…”

Creating Multilingual Documents This was a unique addition to forms of international librarianship at home. Comments such as “being involved in the UNESCO project to create a multilingual IL [information literacy] publication” seem to open various types of written content creation to the arena of possible practices at home.

Supporting Translations Services This is another unique addition, following the example above. A comment on “working on a grant to help us provide translation services for patrons from other countries who have relocated to the US” seeded an interesting possibility for practicing international librarianship at home in a singular way.

Publishing Internationally Several comments offered publishing possibilities as potential ways to engage in international librarianship at home. Comments such as “publishing in English and Spanish on various topics such as multicultural book programs” and “editing an international art journal” certainly open the door to more avenues for incorporating its practice in home settings.

Teaching a Library School Course Some respondents evidently had experience in higher education as teachers of librarians or library school students. Comments like “teaching a course on international librarianship” speak to this level of professional expertise, and may offer another way to put international librarianship into practice if students reside or work in different countries, intend to do so, or are interested in librarianship perspectives that go beyond the borders of one country.

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Contributing Library Material or Expertise to Developing Nations This possible form of practicing international librarianship at home appeared later in the survey and interviews than other forms, but its presence was strong nonetheless. A large number of comments suggested that this form could be practiced in a home setting, offering as examples “working with Librarians without Borders from my library,” “seeding an African library,” and even more specific comments such as “I helped a library in Micronesia research options for a school library catalog.”

Fundraising for International Library Causes This form was another unique example emerging from the online survey. Groups such as Cycling for Libraries offered a potential avenue for its practice in a home setting. Extrapolating this to include other fundraising avenues for libraries across national borders could indeed offer possible ways for interested librarians to participate in its practice at home.

FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS The number and variety of possible forms of practice for international librarianship both abroad and at home were a highlight of this research project. It clearly shows the multifaceted nature of international librarianship, and potentially offers interested librarians many ways to participate. As noted at the start of this chapter, however, these are only possible examples and may not include all the forms that international librarianship can take. And they may not represent all forms agreed upon by practicing librarians or the profession of librarianship. Instead, they are given here as potential ways that international librarianship can be put into practice. Two further considerations are now offered that also emerged from the multitude of examples of international librarianship: that working abroad may not be the only form of international librarianship, and that it may not always necessarily be the best form of practice for interested librarians.

Working Abroad May Not Be the Only Form of International Librarianship Given the multitude of examples offered by librarians in both the online survey and the interviews, it appears that understandings of international librarianship include more than working in a library abroad. In fact, in terms of sheer quantity more examples were offered in this study that

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illustrate the “at-home” aspect of practice. While I make no claims that I have uncovered all the various forms that could be found in either the “abroad” or the “at-home” category, this still seems to show that many forms are possible. This is not meant to denigrate the practice of working abroad as a way to experience international librarianship. In its purest form, if the profession of librarianship could agree on what that might be, working abroad could perhaps occupy the highest rung of the ladder in terms of how it might be best experienced. Certainly, comments such as “To really get that international experience, you need to work or travel abroad” underscore this viewpoint. The overwhelming number of working-abroad narratives that form the core of literature on the topic of international librarianship, as noted in Chapter 1, further support this viewpoint. They emphasize the place of working abroad as a strong indicator of what international librarianship is understood to be by the profession. The literature alone gives working abroad much prestige as the ultimate way to understand and practice international librarianship. Putting international librarianship into practice, however, may not only be limited to this one particular form, esteemed as it might be. The door to its practice could potentially be opened to accommodate other forms as well. A note on value judgments may be in order now, as a way to frame the discussion of potentially different forms of practice going forward.

Is Working Abroad the Best Form of International Librarianship? No value judgment was directly requested during the course of this research project asking participants to rate the best forms of practice for international librarianship, but some value judgments did appear in comments freely offered in both the online survey and personal interviews, such as the one above on working abroad. Others indicated that some forms of practice may be superior through comments such as “There are many ways but some are probably better than others.” My own personal take is that working abroad may not necessarily be the best form of practice for all librarians.This opinion arises from descriptions in this study of its seemingly restricted nature, in that it may limit participation by practicing librarians who do not have the means or opportunities to work abroad. Seeing the many other forms of practice offered by the research participants as possible ways to engage in international librarianship fueled my

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imagination. The multitude of forms seen in this chapter illustrate to me that international librarianship can potentially be engaged in through numerous and varied ways. The additional sense that what is best for someone or something may not be best for another person or thing further fueled my thoughts. The question of what is best for whom or what could depend, for example, on whether the accruing advantage was meant to be for the individual librarian, the library, the library users, or the library profession. The themes of connections, education, and service found in the document analysis could potentially be put to good use in answering the “best for whom” question by helping to determine what is most important in the success of a particular venture or practice. Another way that the “best for whom” question could be approached would be through the process of reframing, a device that is looked at in more depth as the third finding of this book. The use of reframing in this book cannot determine what the best form of practice should be for engaging in international librarianship, but it can hopefully offer another means for considering variations of what success might look like. Moving forward from this point, then, I leave the list of examples in this chapter to illustrate the many ways that international librarianship could be practiced, as along with references in the literature that highlight particular practices. I next consider a lesser-known or discussed aspect of its practice: how international librarianship may be practiced at home.

SUMMARY This chapter offered evidence for the first research finding of this book, that international librarianship can take many forms. Working abroad appeared as a common and well-known form of practice to many librarians in this study.This resonates with the library literature, as noted in Chapter 1, which offers many travel narratives giving details of library work-abroad experiences. This current chapter adds further support to that perspective on international librarianship, along with some thoughts as to whether this form of its practice is the best or perhaps rather the most discussed form. This chapter also offered more examples and further details on what other forms the practice of international librarianship can take beyond working abroad, including those displaying both an “abroad” and an “athome” perspective. These additional forms run the gamut from hosting international librarians to building libraries in developing nations. They

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include examples such as participating in exchange programs, creating library resources that can be shared globally, supporting study-abroad students, and offering citizenship classes to refugees and immigrants. The following chapters shift gears to focus more on the international librarianship at home aspect, since that appears to be either a newer or a lesser-known phenomenon in the library literature. The next chapter looks more deeply at the second research finding of this book, that international librarianship can be practiced at home. This finding is considered from its place within the wider lens of internationalization at home.

CHAPTER 6

Internationalization at Home The second research finding of this book, that international librarianship can take place at home, falls within the wider scope of internationalization at home. The process of internationalization taking place at home through library settings appeared strongly throughout the research. Why this is such an important result is because it widens our understanding of what international librarianship is and can be. This chapter considers the various manifestations of librarianship at home that emerged from this research study.

INTERNATIONALIZATION AT HOME IN HIGHER EDUCATION The wider scope of internationalization at home was introduced at the start of this book in the brief overview of the literature of higher education. It is defined by the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) as “activities which promote an international perspective in curricular, co-curricular or extra-curricular activities which do not necessitate student travel abroad outside the home institution country” (CBIE, 2016, p. 1). That the CBIE has continued to emphasize the importance of internationalization at home is evident in it choosing it as the 2016 theme for its annual conference,“Internationalization for All, Internationalization at Home” (http://cbie.ca/50th-annual-conference/). That this is a continuing area of concern for US higher education is also apparent. The American Council on Education’s Center for Inter­ nationalization and Global Engagement, for example, names internationalization at home as a necessary part of campus internationalization efforts: In order for the United States to have a truly world-class higher education system, colleges and universities must be globally engaged and prepare students to be citizens of a multicultural community both at home and in a globalized world. Institutions accomplish this by having a multi-dimensional, comprehensive strategy that includes internationalization at home and engagement with global issues and partners. ACE (2016)

International Librarianship at Home and Abroad ISBN 978-0-08-101896-5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101896-5.00006-5

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Internationalization at home appears beyond the North American context as well, but the sense of urgency remains equivalent: Internationalization at home (IaH)… IaH is a nascent but rapidly emerging critical focal point for internationalization. Few policy documents currently address it overtly. The European Commission’s 2013 strategy for internationalization, European Higher Education in the World, is a notable exception. But this is surely an important space to watch for future policy developments. Helms and Rumbley (2016, p. 10)

This call for a continued and strong emphasis on internationalization at home not limited to any particular home environment is reflected in ongoing calls to mark its presence throughout higher education. Karen McBride (2016), for example, labels it as imperative: In 2015, we saw a greater focus on Internationalization at Home—that is, internationalization infused in the ethos of the institution and that leads to positive learning outcomes for all students. Given the vast benefits of internationalization, and recognizing that mobility is not possible for every student, providing an avenue to prepare every student for the global context is imperative. McBride (2016, p. 9)

Surely, there is a place for libraries here too? The theme of internationalization at home arising in this study on international librarianship strongly makes the case that librarians can be meaningfully involved in internationalization at home efforts as well.

BRINGING IT HOME IN LIBRARIES While bringing international librarianship home may seem antithetical to the idea of internationalization presumably already at home, it is still worth mentioning here because many librarians did understand one very obvious form of international librarianship to be working, studying, or traveling abroad to libraries outside the home library. And certainly movement of ideas and practices from abroad to a home setting should not preclude the changed practices at home from constituting a form of international librarianship.The cause of a changed or more informed practice, then, could come from abroad, but putting these new understandings into practice at home would still be internationalization taking place at home. Examples of internationalization at home occurring as a result of a trip or working abroad abounded in this study. Sustained relationships, for instance, often began abroad and continued to grow at home in mentorship ties cited by participants. Some of these mentorship examples saw American

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librarians traveling to places in Africa and working with librarian colleagues there, resulting in relationships between them continuing to develop even after the trip was over. Others involved librarians on exchange programs between Canada and Australia remaining in touch and sharing continued support in practices in home libraries. And some mentoring relationships involved librarians from abroad, for example Eastern Europe or Central Asia, working or training as librarians in the United States, then returning to their home countries and staying in touch with their mentors in North America. So mentorship can take place both at home and abroad. Maintaining those connections in a home setting and using them to inform practice seem to be a clear example of “bringing it home.” Another example is librarians who attend international book fairs and bring knowledge of new materials home to their own libraries. In the same vein, librarians who participate in book-exchanges and sister-library programs can learn about new resources in libraries abroad and then bring this knowledge back to grow their own library collections at home. Visits to international library conferences abroad, although dismissed by some librarians as not constituting international librarianship, were identified favorably as just that by a larger number of librarians. Acquiring information about new practices and new perspectives on how librarianship is practiced in different places, whether by working or traveling abroad to international conferences, would therefore seem to fit the same pattern of “bringing it home.” A final example is bringing different cultural attitudes toward librarianship home after a stint working abroad. One participant, in an example of bringing a culturally widened perspective home, mentioned that SciHub, an international website that posts academic articles, often without publisher permissions, was begun by a researcher in the part of the world where she had been working. Her understanding of the scarcity of resources and financial support for researchers in that part of the world widened her understanding of how the site had originated—a knowledge that she brought home to share with American librarian colleagues.

PRACTICING AT HOME IN LIBRARIES Internationalization at home can perhaps be most fundamentally understand as practicing librarianship in a home setting in a way that displays international perspectives. This is potentially easier to grasp as a form of internationalization at home than “bringing it home,” because “practicing at home” is already rooted in the home setting and has not necessarily been

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transferred from abroad. And once again, multiple examples of “practicing at home” are evident in the research study that forms the main content of this book. The clearest examples of “practicing at home” can be seen through the prism of the functional roles described in Chapter 4. The functions themselves—traveling and visiting, working, being a humanitarian, educating, leading, sharing global resources, and connecting virtually—comprise a veritable treasure chest of librarian practices.This is the type of work that librarians do. If they can do it at home and incorporate international perspectives, it may also be a form of practicing international librarianship at home. The functions of traveling, visiting, and working abroad, however, do not lend themselves to “practicing at home” because they do not take place at home. Instead, these functions would better support the “bringing it home” perspective described above. The rest of the functions, on the other hand, easily lend themselves to “practicing at home.”The “at-home” tag, then, can readily be applied to being a humanitarian, educating, leading, sharing global resources, and connecting virtually. Examples of being a humanitarian in a home library setting were sprinkled throughout the research results. It could include working as an editor in North America with librarians in other countries in an effort to help them get their research published. It could also include librarians trying to raise funds or provide new materials to libraries abroad, such as the Librarians without Borders program. The idea of librarians sending weeded or discarded material to libraries in developing nations, in contrast to sending new material, was sometimes cited as an example of international librarianship. However, this proved to be very contentious to most other librarians offering an opinion on this topic, apparently springing from the idea that this is not a good-faith practice. In other words, it was mostly seen not as promoting ideals of librarianship, like providing access to information, so much as dumping unwanted material in a way not truly helpful to recipients. Educating at home can be seen in examples such as librarians from abroad being sponsored to come to the Mortenson Center at the University of Illinois for professional development workshops. Hosting individual librarians from abroad by individual libraries at home was another form of educating at home, as were unique projects like sponsoring bicycle rides to support libraries throughout the world. Whether offering formal or informal education opportunities, the practice of educating at home provided a number of lively examples.

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Leading at home as another way to practice international librarianship occurred in some examples. Often overlapping with educating at home, leading is still distinct enough to merit some recognition as a separate function, because leading offers a grander scale in which such work can take place at home with potentially farther-reaching consequences. Training Bulgarian librarians in Colorado, for example, took place on a much larger scale than might have happened if spearheaded by a single devoted librarian in a single institution. Its grant funding and state support offer further evidence of leading as well. Sharing global resources in a home setting was a very common way of practicing international librarianship at home in this research study. This included examples such as librarians working on collaborative digital projects with others in different countries, and librarians participating in interlibrary loan networks running from local to international exchanges. It also included librarians opening local online access to databases to international researchers and scholars participating in short-term research work at their local universities. This type of sharing global resources could occur because the international researchers were present in person in these local communities. Another example of sharing global resources was found in the support that librarians at home gave to study-abroad students from their local institutions, as well as to students and faculty in transnational programs abroad being developed and supported by their local universities. Librarians in international schools abroad also gave examples of sharing between their home libraries (although located abroad) and other school libraries abroad. Connecting virtually was another very common example cited in this study as being a form of international librarianship. Examples of this function could overlap with the sharing of global resources.The main difference between these two functions often hinged on the difference between supporting library patrons such as students and faculty with specific resources across borders compared to connecting with other librarians virtually to enhance library practices. Examples of connecting virtually as a way to practice international librarianship at home included multiple mentions of the International Librarians Network, founded in Australia but connecting pairs of librarians worldwide to discuss common practices and issues. Other examples included the sharing of information between librarians all over the world, such as through Sarah P. Gibson’s Traveling Librarian blog, and participating in virtual library conferences online that connected librarians from different countries, such as the Library 2.0 conference.

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The examples cited in this functions section display the themes already identified in international librarianship but now evident in home settings as well: connections, education, and service. Connections can be seen in international librarianship at home through the functions of connecting virtually and sharing global resources. Education can be seen in the functions of educating and leading at home. And service can be seen in the function of being a humanitarian. The nature of how these themes appear in international librarianship at home sheds light on their duality.

DUAL NATURE OF INTERNATIONALIZATION AT HOME Engaging in the functions described above can take two forms in practicing international librarianship at home. One form could occur in a home library and involves domestic students, faculty, and others studying, living, or working abroad; the other could also occur in a librarian’s home library, but involves international students, faculty, or others studying, living, or working in the library as international visitors. Examples of both types of international librarianship at home were cited by librarians in this study. In terms of connections, librarians gave examples of supplying needed information to students from their home institutions studying abroad, for example sending background information on the countries to the students. Its converse, librarians working with international students in home settings, for example in providing local library resources to new international students on campus, was a common example throughout this research. In terms of education, the same pattern was evident. The education of domestic students abroad was supported by librarians at home through their participation in orientation before study abroad. Its converse, supporting the learning of international students in home library settings, was once again a very common example seen in explanations of library instruction and outreach programs on home campuses to new international students. And in terms of service, this bifurcated pattern appeared once again. Librarians in home library settings answered reference questions from their domestic researchers abroad using local library resources. Its converse, providing reference assistance to international scholars visiting their home campuses, also appeared. Considering the dual nature of practicing international librarianship at home emphasizes its breadth of practice. Engaging in international librarianship at home includes not only working with international visitors in home settings, but also working with domestic users abroad.The next section moves from describing functions to considering attitudes and self-beliefs.

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ATTITUDES AND SELF-BELIEFS Describing the functions of practicing librarians offers a good starting point for further understanding international librarianship at home, because descriptions of what librarians do can supply an initial understanding of how international librarianship can potentially be practiced at home. To open the door further to a wider way of thinking about what international librarianship means, however, we also need to consider the attitudes and self-beliefs of librarians engaged in these practices. Bigger meanings can then come from these original understandings of practice. The importance of attitude and self-belief in understanding international librarianship at home cannot be overstated. Its importance appeared throughout the research study this book was based upon, over and over again. It appeared in all the participant interviews and in myriad comments throughout the survey. What this says to me is that using the practices identified above is not the sum total of what engaging in international librarianship at home can be. To understand truly what it means, participants repeatedly pointed to seeing attitudes and beliefs as important defining components of international librarianship at home. The self-beliefs of practicing librarians toward international librarianship in general were captured in the survey question and follow-up personal interviews that asked participants if they thought of themselves as being an international librarian. Most participants answered yes, but the responses were not simply yes or no. Some of the affirmative responses were hesitant, in wishing to be so, and others were more goal-oriented, indicating that respondents were trying to work on it.What the self-beliefs did all seem to have in common, however, was a positive attitude toward practicing international librarianship at home. The positive attitude was no doubt due to participant bias: having an interest in international librarianship would likely be a common characteristic of the librarians taking part in this research, and if someone thought that either engaging in or thinking about international librarianship was a waste of time, they would probably be less likely to participate. So the positive comments were not unusual. What was more unusual, however, was the sheer number of comments that focused on attitude as a key indicator of international librarianship. These comments form the backbone of evidence for the following section, and their use in understanding what practicing international librarianship at home can mean is emphasized below. The attitudes of librarians toward international librarianship at home that emerged from this study fall into three general categories: seeing our

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local practice as being part of a bigger whole, stressing the importance of self-help, and viewing international librarianship at home as being a twoway street. Seeing local practice as being part of a bigger whole formed a common backbone for many of the participant comments. They anchored the practice of international librarianship to an “at-home” perspective: [International librarianship is…] Understanding that libraries don’t exist in a bubble but are linked to international developments both within and outside the sector. A better understanding of what is happening within the sector around the world will make you ask questions regarding your own management of your library. Being open to new ideas wherever they come from.

This view of international librarianship as sprouting from a home base also led to beliefs that librarians should expand their learning beyond the confines of their own libraries: In a world where communication between countries is greatly facilitated by social media, email and other internet-based communication, librarians must be knowledgeable about the wider world of libraries and librarianship that exists outside of their home country. Such knowledge contributes to the exchange of ideas, library resources, and expertise that can only further the development of all libraries.

As to the manner in which this knowledge of other libraries and librarianship outside the home environment could take place, many librarians see it as something that needs to be self-initiated. In stressing self-help as the best way to learn about and participate in international librarianship, the “at-home” perspective is once again important: Many librarians will come up to me and say that they want to get involved in international librarianship. But when I ask them what they have done so far, usually the answer is not much. They have not explored any possibilities in their own environments. So my advice is to infuse an international perspective into all we do, into how we look at the world…There are opportunities all around us…perhaps working with immigrants in a public library, reading and writing “how to” articles in newsletters like International Leads, talking with librarians who have gone abroad, present at an international conference, look into sister-city programs, … We need to make these opportunities for ourselves…so much of it is self-initiated.

This particular point of view was reiterated many times by librarians who apparently had quite extensive experience with international librarianship. The stress on self-responsibility instead of simply expecting other librarians to find opportunities for you was quite clear. Another attitude toward international librarianship at home was articulated through the belief that its practice was a two-way street. In other

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words, it cannot be engaged in only by one individual librarian in a home library in a solitary manner. It can start that way, but it also necessitates involvement at another end.Viewed in this light, international librarianship at home can be understood as “reciprocal work, with shared goals,” as well as something that “requires personal curiosity and commitment.” The two-way-street metaphor beginning with international librarianship at home and then expanding out to other spheres includes the idea that travel alone is not sufficient to develop understanding. As one librarian rather emphatically put it, “It is really arrogant to think we [only] have to go somewhere, plus some people can go to other places and still not see the differences or similarities.” The idea that travel alone “would be a very limited experience with no working knowledge of other cultures and practices” speaks once again to the importance of having both a positive attitude and a willingness to learn through self-initiated means. The importance of sharing and nurturing knowledge of librarians at home with other librarians in different settings leads to acknowledgment that librarians all over the world can learn from each other: “I’ve learned so much from and so much appreciate my international librarian colleagues; one important fact is that we all face many common problems and issues, worldwide, related to libraries and librarians.” It should also be stressed that attitude as it appears throughout this book consists of self-awareness as well as motivation. As one survey respondent noted, “You can travel, but still not learn,” with another identifying “listening” as the most important facet of attitude. Motivation to learn from others across borders, as seen in the two-way-street metaphor, also underscores attitude: “We need to learn from each other.” In light of these understandings, attitude is used here as a positive self-motivated orientation toward working with and learning from people in different countries. Its presence in international librarianship refers to the attitude of the librarian wanting to participate in this type of librarianship in some way.

SUMMARY Internationalization at home offers many worthwhile perspectives to the study and consideration of the practice of international librarianship at home. It can give practicing librarians a broader framework of higher education in which to place their own work. It can offer practicing librarians in home environments a way to understand their own personal contributions to a wider library profession. It can spark new ideas for practical ways to

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work with immigrant, refugee, or international student populations in a home-library environment. It can illuminate functional roles of librarianship in a new light. It can underscore the duality of practicing international librarianship at home. It can reinforce the importance of attitudes and beliefs of librarians engaged in its practice. And it can underscore the presence of a positive attitude on the parts of librarians wanting to work with and learn more about people in other countries. All these different perspectives coalesce into the need to see our existing practices with new eyes. The next chapter offers some “new eyes” in its discussion on the need for reframing, the third research finding of this book.

REFERENCES American Council on Education (ACE) Center for Internationalization and Global Engagement. (2016). The ACE case statement for internationalization. Washington, DC: American Council on Education. Available from http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/ Pages/Making-the-Case-for-Internationalization.aspx#statement. Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE). (2016). Canada’s education abroad Lexicon. Available from http://cbie.ca/media/policy-statements/canadas-educationabroad-lexicon/. Helms, R. M., & Rumbley, L. E. (2016). National policies for internationalization – Do they work? International Higher Education, 85, 10–12. Available from http://ejournals.bc.edu/ ojs/index.php/ihe/article/view/9253/8308. McBride, K. (2016). The state of internationalization in Canadian higher education. International Higher Education, 86, 8–9. Available from http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index. php/ihe/article/view/9362/8372.

CHAPTER 7

Reframing International Librarianship The third research finding of this book is that the reframing of attitudes is an important element in the practice of international librarianship. Reframing can involve international librarianship both at home and abroad, but its more obvious appearance may be at home.This might be because the very concept of practicing international librarianship at home seems to require a reframing. An interesting pattern among the three research findings emerges at this point. The first finding, that international librarianship can be practiced in many ways, can inherently include the idea that one of those ways is practicing it at home. The second research finding, that international librarianship can be practiced at home, can inherently include the idea that reframing could be an important element of its practice in this way. This chapter introduces what is meant by reframing and how it can be understood in the context of international librarianship. Reframing examples specifically related to the practice of international librarianship are offered and discussed. The purpose of delving into reframing examples and applications is to enrich our understanding of how international librarianship can be effectively engaged in and experienced by practicing librarians.

REFRAMING To reframe something, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is to “frame or express (words or a concept or plan) differently” (Stevenson, 2010). In terms of the concept of international librarianship found in this book, it means to think differently about what we already do. It means using a new set of lenses to look at our current understandings of what international librarianship means in a new way. This could be a brand-new way of looking or a broadened way that widens our earlier understandings. In either case, it leads to an expanded understanding of the concept of international librarianship. International Librarianship at Home and Abroad ISBN 978-0-08-101896-5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101896-5.00007-7

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Reframing is a construct that appears more and more often in discussions about internationalization. The November 2016 Canadian Bureau for International Education annual conference, for example, stated that “This year’s theme, Internationalization for All, looks at how we can reframe [emphasis added] internationalization to engage all members of the learning community, broadening the understanding of internationalization beyond the more traditional association with mobility, research collaboration and recruitment” (http://cbie.ca/50th-annual-conference/).

REFRAMING INTERNATIONAL LIBRARIANSHIP Reframing can mean looking at the role of the whole library differently. That this extends to internationalization in libraries should not be a surprise. Kenney and Li, for example, recommend a different organizational structure for libraries to use when considering internationalization. Their reframing suggests moving from a collections/personnel-centered structure to a structure that emphasizes student engagement instead: It is our contention that the internationalization of American universities can best be served by realigning research libraries towards an engagement-centered structure. Having a strong East Asia collection or curator, for examples, does not automatically make the library a strong partner for a dual-degree MBA program in China, nor does it make a Chinese student studying engineering at a U.S. institution more successful. Nor does a strong business librarian or an engineering librarian necessarily guarantee effective outreach to Chinese students—the largest international student population on many campuses today. A joint team pairing disciplinary expertise and language/cultural knowledge can make a significant difference in the success of those MBA or engineering students. Research libraries need to fundamentally rethink structures and roles in the context of the global university. In doing so, they not only can leverage existing strengths but expand opportunities to become more deeply integrated in the work of their parent institutions. Kenney and Li (2016, p. 8)

Reframing can include looking at the place of the United States differently in terms of internationalization in librarianship. Lor, for example, claims that international librarianship cannot simply be a role undertaken by librarians in the United States. Librarians have a long tradition of internationalism and cooperation across national borders. This has found expression in, for example, international schemes for interlibrary lending and the sharing bibliographic records, international cooperation in the preservation and conservation of library materials, and international digitization programs. The International Federation of Library Associations and

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Institutions (IFLA) have played a leading role in many of these international activities. Our interconnectedness, made possible by modern information and communication technologies, facilitates such programs. Globalization opens up new opportunities for cooperation. To seize these opportunities and utilize them for the benefit of libraries and library users everywhere, and to avoid the pitfalls of wellintentioned but badly conceived international programs, librarians need to be well informed about the situations, challenges and values of their colleagues in partner countries. The communication has to be two-way. The time when all new ideas, innovations and standards came from the northern hemisphere, and specifically from the USA, is over. Increasingly we live in a multipolar world, with many sources of insight and influence. This makes global librarianship more complex, challenging and interesting than ever before. Lor (2009, p. 9)

The practice of international librarianship both at home and abroad is ripe for reframing. Looking at what international librarianship means through different lenses offers librarians a wider way of understanding the importance of its practice, and a clear way to validate the importance of acting locally but thinking globally. And it essentially moves the discussion of international librarianship away from the perspective that it is something only practiced by select individuals to an understanding that most librarians can participate in it in some form. The chapter now considers the various forms of reframing that lend themselves to newer and broader understandings of international librarianship arising from this research study: reframing the discussion of international librarianship from librarians to libraries, from academic libraries to all libraries, from native English speakers to all English speakers, from American versus non-American to international, from roles to attitudes, from resources to attitudes, from all or nothing to various levels, from abroad only to abroad and at home, from elitism to everyday, and from international librarianship to global librarianship.

From Librarians to Libraries The study of international librarianship can only go so far. Understanding international aspects of library work is not the sole purview of librarians, but can involve other library staff. Rather than focusing specifically on the activities of individuals designated as professionals in the field due to their educational credentials, a reframing of international librarianship might better move from librarians to libraries. This point surfaced quite strongly in this study, as mentioned earlier, and it is well taken. In the words of one participant, “The use of ‘librarian’ [and] ‘librarianship’ feels elitist and

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dismisses the work of non-librarians…And in actual fact, this is not a librarian movement but rather a library movement where international efforts come from all directions.”To move the discussion further, a consideration of international librarianship does need to be widened to look beyond the practices engaged in only by holders of an Master’s in Library and Information Science or equivalent. The work of libraries would offer a different lens because it could potentially include wider views of the value of libraries in general in an interconnected world.

From Academic Libraries to All Libraries Another useful reframing would move the discussion of international librarianship from its current strong focus on academic libraries to include other types of libraries as well. As seen in the earlier chapters of this book, public libraries and school libraries, among others, have contributed strongly to international work taking place in the profession. Public libraries, for example, participate in many types of work that has international perspectives, such as book exchanges with libraries abroad, sistercity projects, and so on. In addition, public libraries serve as a prime example of internationalization at home through programs that support refugees and immigrants in their communities. As one public librarian participant noted: I can do so many things as a public librarian…It is important to present yourself as a multicultural librarian through language, family background, travel experiences, etc. These abilities and experiences help with understanding a diverse society’s needs, and we are able to both enjoy and promote cultural understanding when we set the example.

School libraries have often been overlooked in the study of international librarianship. If nothing else, this research study has shed much light for me on the very internationalized environments that pervade school libraries in settings outside the United States. Collecting multinational literature and supporting students from many different cultures and countries in school settings, school libraries are a rich environment for international library work. A number of respondents noted the importance of international school libraries as places where international library activities can take hold and flourish, with one participant stating the need to remember that school librarians are also “part of the global community of librarians and libraries.” Government and special libraries also deserve more consideration in the study of international aspects of library work. Their unique collections and the personalized support offered to international users merit further study.

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Participants noted that international library work takes place in many settings, including “working in an international organization, corporation or firm,” and often involves “collaborating across networks and serving an international customer base.” Special libraries are specialized bases of knowledge necessary for international library work, such as “supporting legal researchers from around the world.” By reframing our perspectives on international librarianship to move beyond the world of universities and higher education, we can all contribute to a larger perspective on what international library work can look like and where it can take place.

From Native English Speakers to All English Speakers The privileged place of native English speakers in the study of international aspects of library work needs to be acknowledged as well as broadened. Acknowledgment should admit the place of English as the preferred medium in which to share research results and communication among libraries around the world. It might still be helpful, however, for practicing librarians interested in international librarianship who are English dominant to remember that the use of English has its limits. As one participant explained: English is often a common language, but it would help if librarians could use a local language as sometimes you hear things in a foreign language that wouldn’t be expressed in public using the common language of English. Also, there are parts of the world [which] do not have a large population of English speakers.

The idea that English is the sole method for communicating in international librarianship rang false to many participants, with one noting that “It is presumptuous to think [that] English is the only language” needed for this purpose. The use of English should not prevent nonnative speakers from participating in discussions on international librarianship. Instead, their efforts should be supported, perhaps through editing help or pairing with a native speaker in publication efforts. The editorial policies of the IFLA Journal offer a good example, stating the intent to publish in English but encouraging nonnative English speakers to contribute and offering them forms of assistance in doing so: Articles and features are normally published only in English. Authors whose first language is not English should not be inhibited from submitting contributions in English because of this; the correction of minor grammatical and linguistic errors in English is considered to be an integral part of the editorial process. https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/journal/ifla-journal#MANUSCRIPTSTYLE

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An acknowledgment by native English speakers that more people in the world use English as a second language than a first language could potentially broaden our understanding. As Schulzke (2014, p. 225) points out, “English is increasingly a global language, as it is the world’s most popular second language and the primary language of international communication.” He advocates for the use of English as a global language to be inclusive of both native and nonnative speakers—a worthy goal for librarians as well, particularly those interested in international librarianship.

From American Versus Non-American to International The prevalent view of many American librarians that “international” equates to “non-American” appeared numerous times in this research study. Comments such as “I think it is very important that some librarians see and act on the international implications of what US librarians do” may inadvertently reinforce this view by centering international librarianship on the United States. It probably also speaks to half the survey takers as coming from the United States. In general, this may be a common way for Americans to view the rest of the world, and I say this as an American myself. It does have ramifications for how international librarianship is viewed, however, both inside and outside the borders of the United States. It can be seen, for example, even at annual conferences like the American Library Association in designating the “international librarians’ lounge” as a place for nonAmerican librarians. A reframing of “international” to mean American and non-American alike, therefore, is a big challenge. Perhaps a first step might be to see if our personal use of “international” follows the pattern of meaning “nonAmerican,” and at least keep that perspective in mind when interacting with other librarians from outside the United States. A further step might be to consider comments from this research as counterpoints to this prevailing view. For example, remarks such as “librarians from the US thinking they already know everything” could be eye-opening to American librarians who might not know that other librarians felt that way. And other comments can serve to broaden American librarians’ understanding of international librarianship by reminding us of our privileged work contexts: My work and study has shown me the privilege that American librarians enjoy with regard to status, control, and advocacy. Awareness of this privilege has improved my ability to advocate for my home library to colleagues and non-library administrators and faculty.

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Another way to change the frame of American versus non-American could occur through the reframing of “international librarianship” to “global librarianship,” discussed below.

From Roles to Attitudes Reframing the study of international librarianship from a perspective of roles to a perspective of attitudes could potentially result in a newer and broader understanding. Attitudes toward international librarianship were more important than roles in this research study. Comments such as “I believe that international librarianship is supported more by individual interest than one’s position” were very common throughout this study, and echoed by many librarians. This suggests that a librarian’s individual outlook is more important than are specific job descriptions, duties, or institutional support. International librarianship, therefore, seems to be more of an attitude and less a grouping of job actions or settings.This reframing could lead to a much broader view of how librarians can participate in international librarianship. By not tying its practice to job titles or positions in a library hierarchy alone, it may open doors to wider exploration.

From Resources to Attitudes Reframing international librarianship from roles to attitudes can be accompanied by a reframing from resources to attitudes as well.What this means is that resources such as time and money, just as with positions or titles, are not the sole determining factors as to whether or not a librarian can participate in international librarianship. By moving the frame to attitudes, it once again moves from limits to possibilities. An individual librarian’s interest in becoming involved with international librarianship, then, is bigger than any preconceived limits tied to roles or limits. Many comments support this type of reframing: “I think it’s only lack of interest because every professional can benefit from ideas from abroad through reading in the internet/professional magazines. It’s not necessary to travel.” One crucial aspect of attitudes helpful to keep in mind along with these reframings, however, is self-responsibility. The need to think beyond limits such as job descriptions and resources often seems to shift the responsibility for learning about and getting involved in international librarianship to the interested individual. Comments such as “all [librarians] have a potential depending on the frame of mind” illustrate the need of the individual librarian to seek out opportunities for involvement.

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From All or Nothing to Various Forms The idea that any interested individual librarian could potentially learn about and become involved in international librarianship suggests that there is not a “one-size-fits-all” view of how international librarianship can be defined or experienced. Instead, it suggests that there are various levels of involvement, and that individual librarians can make choices about how, where, and when to get involved. This reframing lets us see that international librarianship is not an “allor-nothing” practice, in that it can potentially be practiced in various ways at different levels. For example, engaging in practices such as communicating virtually with other librarians beyond the borders of one’s home country may not strike some librarians as the epitome of international librarianship.This practice, however, could be seen as a form of international librarianship, depending on how it is contextualized and understood. Rather than “anything goes,” then, this reframing looks at international librarianship as being composed of myriad types of practice that involve international aspects. It moves a view of international librarianship from a prescriptive outlook, meaning it can only be practiced in one way, to a descriptive outlook that allows for many different forms of practice. The most common prescriptive view, that work or travel abroad is the only legitimate form of international librarianship, can therefore be widened through this reframing to move our understanding beyond different forms of practice to different settings, too.

From Abroad Only to Abroad and at Home Reframing the emphasis on work or travel abroad alone as the sole manifestation of international librarianship serves as the basis for moving our understandings from abroad only to both abroad and home settings. By seeing internationalization at home as another aspect of international library work, our understanding is also broadened. The previous chapter offered many examples of how internationalization at home can be practiced by librarians. Comments throughout this research project citing instances and examples of librarians working with international students in home academic library settings and refugees and immigrants in home public library settings underscore this involvement. Seeing the duality of international librarianship practiced both abroad and at home can further widen our understanding. Again, this is not an “either/or” scenario. International librarianship can be a “both/and” scenario instead: it can be practiced both abroad and at home.

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Recognizing and acknowledging other forms beyond work and travel abroad can potentially open up the understanding and practice of international librarianship to most, if not all, librarians.

From Elitism to Everyday The understanding of international librarianship as an elite practice that can only be engaged in by librarians in higher management positions who have access to more resources like travel money and time can also be reframed here. The sense of elitism that appeared in this research study was acknowledged by some participants. Comments including words such as “presumptuous” and “ethnocentric” support this view. Other participants noted that they wanted to become involved but “couldn’t afford to.” Some cited specific costs associated with traveling to particular library conferences such as IFLA as being beyond their financial means. Still others noted perhaps more stridently that it is “high time” that librarians moved ideas around international librarianship beyond the hands of the “favored few.” How might international librarianship be reframed then to move from a perspective of elitism to a more everyday perspective? Acknowledging the importance of the internationalization at home reframing above might be one way. An additional way might be to consider that elitism itself could happen both at home and abroad. By this I mean that working abroad might involve frustration, cultural misunderstandings, and lack of access to technology that could make this work less glamorous than librarians at home might realize. So elitism could be perceived by North American librarians working abroad towards their counterparts in home settings, as well as by librarians in home settings in North America envying the perceived perks of travelling and working abroad in exotic settings. Another way to move from elitism to everyday might be to keep in mind that there may be multiple ways to get involved. Another form of international librarianship worth considering in this reframing is that of a possible elitist attitude toward helping others. As noted at the start of this book, there can be a sense of “noblesse oblige” associated with international librarianship. By way of review, this means that people with means can feel morally obligated to help others less fortunate, but this sentiment often plays out in ways that can feel patronizing. The common example in this study that came up over and over again is sending weeded books to developing nations, often in Africa. Intended as “help,” this can sometimes come across as “handouts” potentially not desired by the intended recipients. This practice can also be seen as elitist, even if unintentional.

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How can this form of potential elitism be reframed? This study cannot answer that particular question, but it can suggest that reframing the practice might change our understanding of it. Is it a form of international librarianship? Maybe reframing it as a question of whether or not it is a practice that broadens understanding of international aspects of librarianship could move that discussion forward. If nothing else, however, it could suggest the importance of reframing in general. From practices engaged in only by librarians with important titles and money to a reconsideration of sending weeded books to Africa, elitism appears ripe for reframing. Perhaps striking the middle ground between these two perceived versions of elitism in international librarianship could be the emerging understanding that many librarians in many places in many ways can potentially engage in international librarianship.

From International Librarianship to Global Librarianship This last reframing is possibly the broadest of all. It means that international librarianship might more fruitfully be studied and practiced by rethinking its label. Instead of “international,” then, a different appellation, “global,” might be better for broadening our understanding.“International,” as noted above, is often understood to mean “non-American.” And the word itself, “inter,” meaning “between” and referring to nations, may perhaps lend itself to a narrower understanding. Instead of “between,” maybe we should be thinking of a designation that points to something that is “above” or over all of us, or that encompasses all of us. “Global” is such a term, recommended by a number of participants in this research study. As one participant put it, “I embrace this nomenclature because of the spherical image of the globe…it is more encompassing, personal, around the world…and it includes us all,” with another adding succinctly that “It is about being global in perspective.” Moving from the use of the term “international” to the term “global” in librarianship mirrors what is happening in other disciplines. New work in service learning illustrates this point nicely. Service learning is a form of higher education that emphasizes students going out into the community to put into practice what they are learning in the classroom. Its international form often takes the guise of student volunteer trips abroad to less developed nations. In a recent work on the subject, Garcia and Longo (2013, p. 111) “argue for the importance of re-framing international service-learning as global service-learning” by noting that “this is an

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important time to examine—and challenge—the conceptual frameworks currently being offered for this area of study” (p. 113) and: A focus on the global rather than on the international dimension of service is more holistic and less linear—moving from location to ways of thinking, from nationstates to networks of relationship, and from divisions (international versus local) to interconnections. Garcia and Longo (2013, p. 114)

Garcia and Longo (2013) also cite Peter Stearns (2009), who distinguishes between “international” and “global” by noting that “global” is used more often in K-12 contexts and “international” is used more often in higher education, but that “international” puts too much emphasis on specific nation-states, in particular the United States (p. 114). For practicing librarians to move from “international librarianship” to “global librarianship” thus has precedents in other fields, as well as new understandings coming from its own field to support this reframing.

SUMMARY Reframing offers practicing librarians a broadened understanding of what international librarianship is and can be. Reframing can take many forms, including those discussed above as well as potentially others still undiscovered or undescribed. The forms offered in this chapter included reframing the discussion of international librarianship from librarians to libraries, from academic libraries to all libraries, from native English speakers to all English speakers, from American versus non-American to international, from roles to attitudes, from resources to attitudes, from all or nothing to various levels, from abroad only to abroad and at home, from elitism to everyday, and from international librarianship to global librarianship. Reframing at its core depends on attitudes of practitioners. For it to be successful, it relies on practicing librarians viewing things differently. Bringing a positive attitude to reframing lets it happen. This positive attitude of being open to viewing international librarianship in different ways can then lead motivated and self-directed librarians to consider, explore, and participate in many different forms of its practice in settings both at home and abroad. Reframing also offers librarians the benefit of seeing their practice in wider terms. It validates acting locally but thinking globally in international librarianship. This can occur when librarians see internationalization at home as being an equally important part of international librarianship.

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Understood in this way, reframing can be very inclusive. It can allow librarians to see themselves as part of a bigger whole, the profession of librarianship worldwide. Given this broadened understanding, we may indeed all potentially be international librarians. This chapter concludes the discussion of the three findings arising from the research study that forms the core of this book: that international librarianship takes many forms, that it can be practiced at home, and that reframing is an integral part of its practice. The following chapters take these new understandings of what international librarianship potentially can be, and consider further aspects in various ways. The next chapter begins by offering librarians some examples of ways to put these new understandings into practice.

REFERENCES Garcia, N. A., & Longo, N.V. (2013). Going global: Re-framing service learning in an interconnected world. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 17(2), 111–135. Available from http://openjournals.libs.uga.edu/index.php/jheoe/article/viewFile/ 1025/671. Kenney, A. R., & Li, X. (2016). Rethinking research libraries in the era of global universities. Ithaka S+R. Available from http://www.sr.ithaka.org/publications/rethinking-research-libraries-in-theera-of-global-universities/. Lor, P. J. (2009). Foreword. In I. Abdullahi (Ed.), Global library and information science: A textbook for students and educators IFLA publication series 136/137: (p. 9). Munich: K. G. Saur. Schulzke, M. (2014). The prospects of English as a global language. Globalizations, 11(2), 225–238. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2014.904173. Stearns, P. (2009). Educating global citizens in colleges and universities: Challenges and opportunities. New York: Routledge. Stevenson, A. (Ed.). (2010). Oxford dictionary of English (3rd ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.

CHAPTER 8

Putting International Librarianship Into Practice: Beginning Points Understanding that international librarianship offers many different ways for librarians to participate in it can open the door to various opportunities for its practice. Adding the elements of considering potential home practices and employing reframing in making it happen can further grow opportunities. This chapter offers some suggested beginning points for putting international librarianship into practice. These points were given voice during the course of the research study.They have coalesced and been further fleshed out by my own personal perspectives, and by applying the themes of connections, education, and service identified at the start of the book.

MULTIPLE ENTRY POINTS What is essential to remember before beginning any practice of international librarianship is that there is no one right way to do so. This book has shown that international librarianship is a multifaceted phenomenon and offers multiple entry points.The entry points listed in this chapter are therefore meant to serve only as suggested examples, not as an exhaustive list of prescribed ways to begin.They are offered in the hopes that readers will make use of them to spark new and different ways to begin that may be unique to their own interests and circumstances and may not appear among these suggestions.

INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS The other perspective to keep in mind is that the common thread that identifies different forms of practice as international librarianship is an international aspect. The sense of working “between nations” with people from different countries, or a sense of crossing borders, is what distinguishes this from any other type of librarianship. International Librarianship at Home and Abroad ISBN 978-0-08-101896-5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101896-5.00008-9

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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International aspects could take the form of working with library patrons from different countries. They could involve moving information from one country to another, or working on a collaborative project with a librarian in another country. Or they could be engaging in an international exchange program. They could potentially even be soliciting input from different library patrons or librarians in different countries to inform your own understanding on a particular library issue.

BORDERS Borders likewise can take many forms.They can be physical borders between different countries, or virtual borders reflecting different geographical divides. They can be borders between a librarian practicing in one country but serving patrons in another. They can be borders between students of different nationalities in an international school. They can be linguistic or cultural borders between immigrants and native librarians in a public library. Whatever form a border takes, however, it can offer a useful conceptual way to start thinking about putting international librarianship into practice.

PROCESSES AS WAYS TO BEGIN Combining elements of international aspects or borders with different forms of practice gives librarians many entry points to putting international librarianship into practice. The rest of this chapter describes these entry points as different processes that interested librarians could invoke as a way to begin. One important note to keep in mind regarding processes is that they are just that, a continuum that implies ongoing movement. So each process in and of itself is more a moving target rather than one discrete point in time. By presenting the examples this way, I hope that interested librarians will assume a stance of “jumping right in,” rather than waiting for a perfect moment to present itself. There is no perfect moment for beginning to practice international librarianship, just as there is no one perfect way.

Identifying Examples Learning about different forms of practice cited as examples throughout this book is one way for librarians interested in international librarianship to start to think about its practice. These examples can serve as end goals when beginning to think about how you might personally want to become

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involved. Revisiting examples provided in Chapter 4 of international experiences and programs offered by librarians thinking deeply about international librarianship may spark some thoughts of what is possible. Examples of programs, workshops, and projects offered in Chapter 2’s document analysis may serve this same purpose. And rereading the summaries of the online survey responses in Chapter 3 may open potential avenues to explore. These examples include practices such as sister-city projects, bookexchange programs, setting up an internship or other opportunity to work abroad, working with satellite campuses, participating in international librarian information-exchange networks, supporting global ­ resource-sharing projects, networking in person with librarian colleagues from abroad, ­conducting research with librarians from other countries, contributing to global cataloging standards, and taking part in international preservation work, among many others.

Using Reframing Another way to begin might be to start with reframing as a way to identify wider possibilities for practice. This encompasses looking at international librarianship with different eyes. Making use of reframing as a way to begin could allow you to broaden your own ideas of how international librarianship can be viewed or experienced before you necessarily identify an end goal. How might this actually be accomplished? Developing a positive mental attitude is one way suggested by the literature of psychology. This involves putting positive messages into your mind by reading material that inspires you, repeating positive phrases to yourself as a form of self-motivation, and writing down goals (Schweingruber, 2006, p. 49). In the context of practicing international librarianship, it could take the form of reading stories about international librarianship that inspire you, reminding yourself mentally that you are an international librarian, and writing down goals related to the work of international librarianship that you want to attain. Perhaps another way to trigger a reframing could simply be making a conscious effort to remember that another perspective might exist. In a personal example from daily life, I experienced an early reframing when I first accepted my current job in Canada, knowing that I would be driving across the border every day. In the early days, I often felt aggravated by having to tell every border patrol agent every single day what my nationality was. I knew that they could see “American” on their screen as I went across with my Nexus pass, so I often thought to myself “Why can’t you just read it on the screen or on my passport?” It was not until a colleague suggested

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that the border agents probably did this to get verification from my own lips to correspond to the documentation that I began to see these interactions in a different light. Now when they ask me every day, “What country are you a citizen of?” I remember that it is probably verification they are after. This simple reframing of why someone asks a routine question has made my commute much easier to deal with mentally every day. A different perspective can bring different awareness. Applying this simple type of reframing can be effective with international librarianship as well. Changing how you view working with international students in your home library, for example, offers a good opportunity to put this reframing into practice. If you reframe this work to see it as a form of international librarianship being practiced at home, you can more easily see yourself as an international librarian.

Considering Internationalization at Home An additional or alternative way to begin could be to consider the possibility of engaging in practices of international librarianship at home. Finding local opportunities to practice international librarianship is an idea that reverberates throughout this book. Examples given by the participants should inspire practicing librarians everywhere. They range from working with immigrant and refugee populations in local public library settings to working with international students in local academic and school library settings, and working with international scholars and visitors in local government, corporate, or special libraries. Library work in all these different settings can span a great range of activities, from outreach to literacy support and reference assistance. It can also take many forms, from one-on-one assistance to formal in-person classes, online learning opportunities, group projects, speaker series, collection development, etc. The importance of beginning locally cannot be overstated because it offers an easily visible entryway to international librarianship. How best to begin, then? If any local projects are ongoing, a starting point is readily apparent by contacting the convener. If not, librarians can become their own conveners by reaching out to potentially interested partners. Local public librarians, for example, could contact immigrant service agencies in their communities. Interested librarians could also look into new programming offered by professional library groups exploring this very question. The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs, for example, received funding to

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partner with the American Library Association (ALA) on a joint project called “Project Welcome: Libraries and Community Anchors Planning for Resettlement and Integration of Refugees and Asylum Seekers”(https:// publish.illinois.edu/projectwelcome/). And libraries in any settings can look to their local surroundings to explore possibilities. Academic libraries, for example, exist as part of a larger educational setting. So they could perhaps begin by contacting their offices of international student services, their study abroad offices, their academic support centers, or their English as a second language teaching centers. They could also look to see if partnership programs already exist between their college or university and other colleges or universities abroad. Whatever local setting a librarian operates in, there might be many possibilities to be explored. Rather than waiting for someone else, librarians interested in international librarianship can potentially become their own best conduit by considering some of these possibilities.

CONNECTIONS, EDUCATION, AND SERVICE Other ways to begin putting international librarianship into practice can come from the three general themes of connections, education, and service found throughout this book. Because they are recognized ways of engaging in librarianship, they lend themselves well to the practice of international librarianship if an international aspect or border is also present. Making connections, seeking out mentors, joining professional associations, attending conferences, reading the literature, and making your own voice heard are all processes that reflect aspects of connections, education, and service. These are described briefly below as further ways to begin putting international librarianship into practice.

Making Connections Making connections to conveners in local settings, as indicated above, is a logical way to start practicing international librarianship. The two steps involved are first, find out what is happening locally, and second, contact the person who is making it happen. But making connections can go beyond a local setting into settings much further afield, including international ones beyond the borders of one’s own country. The connections themselves can take various forms, spanning local faceto-face connections to international virtual connections. One key point to remember is the need to be active if you want these connections to occur.

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Rather than passively waiting for someone to contact you, a better way to begin would be for you to seek out contacts yourself. Reaching out to other librarians through listservs, personal email messages, or other forms of social media is to be encouraged. As a profession of service providers, most librarians are willing to help other librarians contacting them for assistance even if they do not personally already know the requestor. Make the most of this librarian proclivity to help! It can potentially open the door to many ways to practice international librarianship and give you many ideas for how to get involved that you may never have thought of yourself.

Seeking Out Mentors International librarianship is not necessarily a do-it-alone proposition. For some librarians, opportunities to engage in it may be readily apparent right before their very eyes. For many others, however, it could require some assistance or advice from other librarians already involved in or knowledgeable about the options. Making connections, as noted above, can offer practicing librarians a way to get their foot in the door of international librarianship or at least to start a dialogue about potential avenues to explore. For advice on how to be successful, how to sustain an ongoing project, or even potentially who best to contact first regarding a particular idea or project, a mentor may be invaluable. The obvious question for this practice is how to find a mentor? Again, this often relies on initiative on the part of the librarian seeking advice. While some library settings do offer formal mentoring systems, it would probably be a rare system that focuses this activity on international librarianship. However, formal mentoring systems may at least offer some types of professional support to librarians exploring different areas, among which could be international librarianship. Again, take advantage of whatever options may be available to you. If there is a formal support network, inquire how you can get support to learn more about or engage in projects relating to international librarianship. If not, seek out opportunities to find useful mentors yourself. One self-directed avenue might be to find out what projects other libraries or library associations are engaged in that may have something to do with international librarianship and follow up with the people involved. Another might be to join a group of interested fellow librarians in a virtual community like the International Librarians Network. Still another could be word of mouth. Just as there is no one right way to practice international librarianship, there is also no one right way to find a mentor. Instead, be open to possibilities and take chances in contacting librarians who might be potentially helpful to you.

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Joining Professional Associations There is expense involved in joining professional associations, as noted by participants in this study. Membership, however, could potentially serve as a way to get you involved in international librarianship beyond the confines of your own home library setting. Listservs, program offerings, and professional development opportunities like webinars can inform you about new and ongoing projects and discussions about happenings in international librarianship. The tradeoff of cost for value, then, could justify joining a professional association as a way to begin the practice of international librarianship. In the United States and across North America, the ALA of course is one of the best-known professional associations offering ways to get involved with international librarianship. Its International Relations Round Table, for example, offers ways to set up sister libraries, hosts receptions for librarians from around the world, and publishes International Leads, a regular newsletter describing international library projects. The other obvious example is the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) mentioned earlier in this book. This association sponsors its own scholarly journal, the IFLA Journal, hosts a world conference every year in a different part of the globe, and runs a very active listserv devoted to international librarianship topics. Beyond these two well-known professional bodies, this book introduced me to the existence of school library associations such as the International Association of School Librarians and the European Network for School Libraries and International Literacy.This suggests to me that there are many professional association avenues available to learn about international librarianship beyond the borders of North America that many librarians may not be aware of. So another way to begin that I advocate is for interested librarians to explore other opportunities through professional associations that might not be so well known. And to stretch this suggested entry point further, librarians interested in international librarianship might consider looking into professional associations beyond librarianship.The Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE), another association that appears in these pages, is a case in point.The CBIE is keenly interested in internationalization at home and devoted its 2016 annual conference to this topic. A corresponding American equivalent, the Association for International Educators, also supports internationalization at home efforts in which libraries could potentially become involved, and discipline-specific professional associations like TESOL (Teaching

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English to Speakers of Other Languages) may support international librarianship perspectives. As with mentoring, there may be ways into international librarianship through professional associations.

Attending Conferences Attending conferences merits its own subsection as another way to begin, separate from joining professional associations, simply because it is not always necessary to do one before you can do the other. Of course, as every cost-conscious librarian knows, it is less expensive to attend a conference like the ALA conference if you are already a member. However, just looking at conferences in this way is too limiting. Instead, I offer attending conferences as another way to explore the wider world of international librarianship beyond restricting yourself to the one association/one conference paradigm. By way of personal example, I am fortunate enough to be allotted a certain amount of money to support my professional development efforts by my workplace. Instead of attending the same conferences year after year, however, I have decided to explore different conferences in different locales. In this way, I attended the ALA conference one year, the CBIE meeting another year, TESOL a following year, and so on. Many librarians of course do not have funding for attending conferences and often must spend money out of their own pockets to do so. Within financial constraints, however, it is a practice worth exploring. As many librarians undoubtedly already know, our profession offers many, many opportunities to attend different conferences. A brief glance at the International Library Related Conferences webpage maintained by James Thull of Montana State University and Marian Dworaczek, formerly of the University of Saskatchewan, underscores this large scope (http://www.lib. montana.edu/∼james/). And virtual conferences such as Library 2.0 offer further possibilities, particularly those that might not charge a fee to join or participate. For librarians interested in international librarianship, one door to its practice may be through these various conferences.

Reading the Literature Research presented in this book notes that many practicing librarians do not rely heavily on the literature of librarianship to learn about, engage in, or discuss topics related to the practice of international librarianship. Despite this reality, I would still like to endorse reading the literature as a solid way to begin, because the literature forms the root of our profession and it

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should be informing our practice as well. There is also potentially more there than initially meets the eye. For librarians interested in learning more about how international librarianship is understood and practiced, it makes sense to become familiar with our own literature first before moving out into other fields like higher education. Perhaps one way to make this more palatable is to make it more of a routine. So instead of diving in once and expecting to find all the answers instantly, looking occasionally but more regularly could make it more of a habit and less of a burden. Search alerts could also be set up to email contents of journals identified in this book as potentially representative of international librarianship to interested librarians. Suggested titles could include those identified in the Chapter 1, such as College & Research Libraries, the Journal of Academic Librarianship, Library Quarterly, Library Trends, Information Development, International Library Review, Libri, Focus on International Library and Information Work, IFLA Journal, Library Times International: World News Digest of Library and Information Science, New Library World, and World Libraries: An International Journal Focusing on Libraries and Socio-economic Development in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It may also be worth noting the irony of a profession that purports to support scholarly dissemination in all its forms as being ambivalent to its own scholarship.This does not speak particularly well of librarians. Becoming familiar with the content of library literature, then, can serve two very big purposes: informing practicing librarians about new ideas and developments in international librarianship, and improving our own practice by applying what has been learned in this way to our own day-to-day work.

Making Your Own Voice Heard I offer making your own voice heard as the final way to begin in this chapter because it can arguably be the most meaningful way for a librarian to engage in international librarianship. By this I mean that a librarian’s self-directed initiative to contribute to international librarianship often stems from a deep personal commitment shared with others. It carries a lot of weight because it represents this commitment in a very real and personal way. Examples of making your voice heard can take the form of both formal and informal communications. Formal communications can include adding to the literature of librarianship through journals, essays, book chapters, books, conference proceedings, and so on. Journals identified as strongly associated with international librarianship include titles such as those listed in the preceding subsection.

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Informal communications can include participating in social media on the topic of international librarianship, contributing content to blogs, posting messages and replies on listservs, speaking in person with your home institutional colleagues, and networking one-on-one with others in the profession. Informal communication routes such as contributing comments to blogs like The Traveling Librarian (https://sarahpgibson.wordpress. com/) or the International Librarians Network blog (http://interlibnet. org/?wref=bif) may open this door for you. Or receiving and responding to email messages on the very active IFLA-L listserv (http://www.ifla.org/ mailing-lists) may open up some possibilities too. And as with the other suggested ways to begin offered here, figuring out how to make your voice heard should be an active rather than a passive pursuit. Seek out opportunities to make your voice heard. If opportunities are not readily available, consider creating them yourself. Look for kindred spirits. Start a small community. Give opportunities to other librarians to make their voices heard as well.

SUMMARY Putting international librarianship into practice offers librarians many beginning points. The suggested examples in this chapter—reframing your attitude, looking for local opportunities, making connections, seeking out mentors, joining professional associations, attending conferences, reading the literature, and making your own voice heard—represent different pathways into learning about and participating in international librarianship. And as noted at the start of this chapter, these are just examples. They originated from the research study and were supplemented with my own perspectives and the application of themes concerning connections, education, and service. Practicing librarians interested in international librarianship will want to consider their own settings, circumstances, inclinations, and interests when deciding how to begin. Widening the concept of international librarianship to include internationalization at home projects can offer practicing librarians an additional or alternative starting point. Engaging in projects in home library settings with patrons, students, staff, faculty, or community members from other countries offers a very expedient way to become involved. And employing a positive attitude and motivated self-direction to seek out opportunities could potentially be the best way of all to make these opportunities happen. Local connections to people from other countries in

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your own community (buying books in another language, for example) could potentially lead to global connections for your library practice (working on book-exchange programs with librarians abroad). Likewise, global connections to library patrons or colleagues abroad (offering library research support to faculty abroad) can positively influence your home practice as well (adding new resources from previously unknown publishers to your home collection). Framing international librarianship as engaging in established practices already associated with the profession—connections, education, and service—that also include an international aspect or sense of border further widens the possibilities for its practice. In fact, there may be no limit to the ways that international librarianship can be put into practice. Learning about how to begin putting it into practice parallels these limitless possibilities. Myriad ways to put it into practice and myriad ways to begin give librarians many opportunities to explore and participate in international librarianship. The next chapter looks at further aspects of understanding international librarianship in its many forms, through its practice in home settings, and with the use of reframing. Its content considers wider contexts such as trends that may affect or influence the practice of international librarianship.

REFERENCE Schweingruber, D. (2006). Success through a positive mental attitude? The role of positive thinking in door-to-door sales. The Sociological Quarterly, 74(1), 41–68.

CHAPTER 9

Wider Themes and Trends Seeing international librarianship as something that can be practiced in many different ways, with one of those ways being internationalization at home, and acknowledging the importance of reframing attitudes as a key element of international librarianship are the three overarching findings of this book. Considering how to begin putting international librarianship into practice, as in the last chapter, is an aspect of further understanding this phenomenon. An additional aspect worth considering is placing these findings into a broader background context to understand its practice more deeply in our current time and place. This chapter aims to do that. The chapter moves from concept to reality. The concepts of international librarianship that emerged from the research study have been presented, described, and supplemented in the previous chapters; this chapter now shifts gears to the reality of its practice. It does so by grounding potential ways it can be practiced in the reality of the circumstances in which most librarians operate—circumstances that can be affected and influenced by many wider themes and trends in the world today. The chapter begins by revisiting some themes arising from the literature of international higher education to see if they resonate with the findings of this book. The themes described in Chapter 1 of this book as being those I saw as most helpful for understanding international librarianship included internationalization at home, study abroad, and transnational higher education. After conducting the research study that comprised the core of this book, I am slightly revising that list to emphasize global citizenship and intercultural awareness more strongly and give less emphasis to study abroad. My reason for doing so is that the study evidence seems to show that international librarianship can not only support students studying abroad but can also bring people from different nations together in more common goals such as developing intercultural awareness and promoting global citizenship. Study-abroad support is still an important function of international librarianship, but the lens has now been widened to include the other more global forms as well. International Librarianship at Home and Abroad ISBN 978-0-08-101896-5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101896-5.00009-0

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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To that end, I now take a brief look at the revised four themes coming from the literature of higher education—internationalization at home, global citizenship, intercultural awareness, and transnational education—to see if they relate to the findings of this book. The chapter then goes on to look more closely at the current educational trends within the profession of librarianship—internationalization in general, sustainability, technology, and changing notions surrounding library space—to consider how these may affect its practice. This chapter then gives a further brief consideration to more wide-ranging trends, including social, cultural, and political perspectives that color all forms of library work now and presumably in the future. Finally, it calls for embracing a more informed way forward for practicing international librarianship through remaining aware of these trends, being cognizant of individual circumstances, and anchoring international librarianship in library work between people of different nations.

REVISITING THEMES FROM INTERNATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION The literature of international education offers a plethora of perspectives that can enhance understanding of international librarianship. Four themes in particular lead to a richer understanding of international librarianship: internationalization at home, global citizenship, intercultural awareness, and transnational education.These themes readily echo the findings of this book that international librarianship takes many forms, that it can be practiced at home, and that attitude reframing is an important feature in the pursuit and practice of international librarianship. Each theme is considered briefly in terms of the findings of the book.

Internationalization at Home The theme of internationalization at home is strongly reflected in international librarianship. This can be seen through examples provided in Chapter 6. Internationalization at home also broadens the finding that international librarianship can take many forms. Some of the forms appear in functions such as working and traveling abroad, being a humanitarian, educating, leading, sharing global resources, and connecting virtually. Internationalization at home can happen when these functions occur in or through a home library setting. And internationalization at home also supports a deeper understanding of reframing in international librarianship. Simply acknowledging that international librarianship can even be practiced at home requires a reframing.

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Global Citizenship The theme of global citizenship also resonates with international librarianship. Global citizenship in and through libraries can take many forms, it can take place at home, and it can involve reframing. It can be fostered, for example, through librarians connecting virtually with domestic students abroad, as well as by working with international students in home libraries. It can be fostered at home when public librarians work as educators with their local immigrant and refugee communities. And it can involve reframing if librarians approach it as something that includes both domestic and international students, i.e., understanding global to mean building a view of good citizenship that goes beyond being a citizen of one nation only.

Intercultural Awareness Intercultural awareness is a further theme that adds depth to an understanding of international librarianship. It too can take many forms, can take place at home, and can involve reframing. It can take the form of librarians acting as educators when working with international students new to academic libraries in North America, for instance. One particular example of this is librarians offering instruction on academic norms concerning cultural understandings of plagiarism. Another form is introducing American students to different cultures by hosting events in the library. Both of these examples can occur in home library settings. And another setting that lends itself well to promoting intercultural awareness is international school libraries that regularly support interactions between domestic and international students of different cultures. Reframing offers a further way to understand and promote intercultural awareness more deeply, as for example looking at library understandings of plagiarism as a cultural practice and not just a discipline issue.

Transnational Education As with the themes above, transnational education can add another layer of understanding to international librarianship, and likewise can take many forms, be practiced at home, and involve reframing.Transnational education can take the form of librarians developing leadership training programs that involve cooperative library work between domestic librarians and those from other countries, as with the Mortensen Center. These programs can take place in both home library settings and libraries abroad, like the Colorado State Library program involving Bulgarian librarians.Transnational

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education can also be practiced at home with librarians supporting students and faculty abroad on satellite campuses. And it can involve reframing as well if it is seen as supporting international students and faculty at home as well as domestic students and faculty abroad. At the time of writing this book, the theme of transnational education had begun to appear more in the library literature.The International Insights column of College and Research Libraries News published in December 2016, for example, was entirely devoted to “The future of US university international branch campuses abroad.” It ended with this plea to practicing librarians: It is our hope that you will recognize how significantly educational transnationalization is affecting the working lives and professional practice of so many of our colleagues. As U.S. higher education institutions take bigger and faster steps to broaden and globalize, it is essential to incorporate this trend into our planning as a profession…Librarians practicing in U.S. higher education abroad should not be viewed as in the margins of our professional community, but as representatives of the future. Let’s tackle these exciting new frontiers together. Birch (2016, p. 554)

This quote attests to transnational education as an important new trend in librarianship as well as higher education. The idea of possible marginalization is not supported by the research evidence presented in this book, probably because the study participants were presumably already advocates of international librarianship. If the greater community of practicing librarians view transnational education in this light, however, it would be interesting to find out why that is so. At any rate, the richness of these themes from international higher education can offer practicing librarians many new aspects to consider when thinking about international librarianship. These themes do resonate with the findings of this book that international librarianship can take many forms, that it can be practiced at home, and that reframing attitudes is an important element in its practice. By widening librarian understanding of these themes, our own practices can potentially widen as well.

TRENDS IN LIBRARIANSHIP Beyond underscoring themes from international higher education, the content of this book can be placed within a framework of broader trends intersecting the practice of librarianship in the 21st century. These overarching trends can potentially shed more light on the book’s findings from wider perspectives that affect the whole profession.

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The library profession has tracked trends in various ways, among them the production of lists by professional associations. One such list is the “2016 Top Trends” report put out by the Association of College and Research Libraries Research Planning and Review Committee (http://crln.acrl.org/ content/77/6/274.full). Another list is the International Federation of Library Associations “Trend Report” (http://trends.ifla.org/). Other trends have been noted in the literature of librarianship (Kyrillidou, 2000). Finally, the lived experience of practicing librarians can often identify trends in the profession as well, simply in terms of what influences seem to be currently shaping their work. Given the overwhelming number of trends available for discussion, I chose to focus on four simple examples that seem of particularly high value for international librarianship. I selected them because they probably affect all types of libraries and could therefore potentially influence the practice of international librarianship in many forms. The examples of trends briefly considered here are internationalization in general, sustainability, technology, and changing notions surrounding physical library spaces.

Internationalization in General Internationalization, the major trend noted in the literature of higher education at the start of the book, continues to reverberate strongly in education at the time of writing.The very nature of international librarianship, in that it can be practiced in many ways both at home and abroad, highlights this particular trend very clearly. The examples of librarians engaging in international librarianship in various settings, such as school libraries, public libraries, special libraries, and academic libraries, also speak to the widespread influence of internationalization in international librarianship. Fuller understanding of the trend of internationalization brings with it the need for deeper understandings of its wide-ranging nature in educational settings. While it is beyond the scope of this book to consider all its manifestations, it suffices to highlight some common misconceptions offered several years ago that may still cause some pause for thought today. Hans de Wit (2011, p. 1) offered a list of misconceptions to consider as a way to move forward the discussion of what internationalization is. These misconceptions were meant to provoke discussion by presenting exactly what he thought internationalization was not. 1. Internationalization is education in the English language. 2. Internationalization is studying or staying abroad. 3. Internationalization equals an international subject.

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4. I nternationalization implies having many international students. 5. Having a few international students in the classroom makes internationalization into a success. 6. There is no need to test intercultural and international competencies specifically. 7. The more partnerships, the more international. 8. Higher education is international by nature. 9. Internationalization is a goal in itself. Internationalization is an ongoing trend that continues to influence and underpin the role of local educational practices as well. As Jones, Coelen, Beelen, and de Wit (2016, p. 2) put it: The increased energy put in internationalisation has created a greater mix of global and local opportunities. This has increased the range and number of stakeholders that play a role in or stand to benefit from it…. the challenge for each of the stakeholders is to make sense of this complex kaleidoscope of opportunities.

These stated misconceptions and thoughts on the local nature of internationalization are offered as a reminder that internationalization defies simplistic definitions. It is a multifaceted phenomenon that can be understood and practiced in many different ways. There is no one right or wrong way to define internationalization unequivocally. However, it is a strong and ongoing trend in education that can certainly place the findings of this book concerning international librarianship into a wider framework of understanding.

Sustainability Sustainability is another such trend that may be able to add further meaning to the findings of this book. Sustainability can also encompass many meanings and forms. The United Nations offers a comprehensive introduction to ideas concerning sustainability in its Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics). The topics described include capacity building, education, climate change, food security, health, multistakeholder partnerships, sustainable tourism, trade, and many others. Sustainable development goals are offered in an easy-to-understand format, and consist of the following targets. 1. No poverty. 2. Zero hunger. 3. Good health and well-being. 4. Quality education.

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5. Gender equality. 6. Clean water and sanitation. 7. Affordable and clean energy. 8. Decent work and economic growth. 9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure. 10. Reduced inequalities. 11. Sustainable cities and communities. 12. Responsible consumption and production. 13. Climate action. 14. Life below water. 15. Life on land. 16. Peace, justice and strong institutions. 17. Partnerships for the goals (United Nations, 2017). Within the field of librarianship, the International Relations Roundtable of the American Library Association (ALA) International Sustainable Library Development Interest Group (ISLD) defines its purpose in the following way: The ISLD serves as a clearinghouse of sustainable community-based library projects in developing areas of the world. This group mobilizes the power of ALA librarians to raise awareness of and make significant contributions to international library development. Librarians in developing countries can tap into resources for training and projects in their libraries. http://www.ala.org/irrt/irrtcommittees/isld/isld

By linking resources and projects from developed to developing nations, this group offers sustainability as a goal to strive for, and one that fits easily into an understanding of international librarianship. The trend of sustainability could offer a reason for different forms of international librarianship given as examples in this book to grow in the future, such as literacy programs, professional development training programs for librarians from developing nations, etc.

Technology Technology is a trend that has obvious impact in the world of librarianship and, by extension, international librarianship. The ALA’s Center for the Future of Libraries webpage on “Libraries of the Future” sees technology as one of the main trend categories, and many newly developing trends come out of this main category. These subtrends include topics such as badging, drones, fandom, gamification, maker movement, robots, and more (Center for the Future of Libraries, 2017).

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Many of the ways to connect suggested in this book, such as virtual networks and collaborative projects created by librarians in different libraries in different places, exemplify new or extended uses of technology. The pervasive use of technology can also be seen in international preservation work and educational offerings developed and distributed online.Technology is so ingrained into librarianship, in fact, that it can sometimes be difficult to tease out its international components. Perhaps one way to do so is to consider its use by librarians in developing nations. Davis (2015, pp. 131, 133), for example, offers a counterpoint to its ongoing and assumed presence for most librarians in the developed world by offering a perspective from an African librarian: This paper by no means argues for a rejection of technological innovation but cautions against an embrace of such innovation without a rethink of the traditional values of libraries. In the African context, this is ever more important… it is apparent that Africa still grapples with major developmental issues. There are infrastructural challenges, not to mention the challenges regarding reading and sustainability, including health. While the application of new technologies are [is] vital for countries in Africa to catch up with the rest of the world, can one ignore the basic needs of the continent and its people? One questions the wisdom of the application of ICTs [information and communication technologies]—for example, where basic literacy is still lacking.

Seen from this perspective, viewing the trend of technology in international librarianship offers an opportunity to consider not only what it is and how it is used, but why and how it should be used as well.

Library Spaces Newly emerging understandings of physical library spaces, and what they should or can be, are another trend worth considering in regards to international librarianship. That more and more academic libraries in North America are currently divesting themselves of physical collections of books and devoting themselves to more open physical learning spaces is a strong trend at present. Questions as to what this trend might mean for all types of libraries in the future are becoming more common. McGillis (2016, p. 4), for example, wonders if libraries that do not change their service models may be heading for a future where “If change does not occur, academic libraries will become study spaces with comfy chairs and computers to access Google: the place where ’the lights are on but nobody is home’.” As to how this sense of physical space could impact international librarianship, there is no clear answer. Perhaps physical library spaces will move from book storage units to community development spaces. Perhaps

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physical library book collections will come to be seen more as domains of developing nations rather than developed nations. Or perhaps changing physical library spaces will steer international librarianship toward more virtual practices. It is a trend worth considering, however, because it may have ramifications for the future in terms of how international librarianship could be understood or practiced. Internationalization in general, sustainability, technology, and changing notions surrounding library space are some of the professional trends that currently affect the practice of librarianship. International librarianship is affected as well, since it is not immune from these trends. And as with librarianship in general, international librarianship is affected by broader social, cultural, and political trends. A fuller understanding of these broader trends may further illuminate the practice of international librarianship by emphasizing that it cannot be practiced in a vacuum, but is also a product of its times.

WIDER TRENDS An entire book could easily be written on wider trends affecting international librarianship in the 21st century. These include social, cultural and political trends, as well as trends in business, education, finance, economics, science, medicine, engineering, architecture, law, and so on. As can be surmised from even that short list, wider trends influencing the current landscape in which libraries operate are overwhelming in both nature and number. Since it is well beyond the scope of this book to cover all these wider trends, this section serves only to sketch out some of the broader background contexts that could influence the practice of international librarianship. My intent here is simply to offer some examples of these wider trends as important background considerations to keep in mind when thinking more deeply about how international librarianship can be practiced in today’s world. And rather than list these wider trends in their own groupings, such as social trends, political trends, and so on, I have elected to arrange them instead under the three findings of this book: that international librarianship can take many forms, that it can be practiced at home, and that a reframing of attitudes is an important feature of its practice.This arrangement is meant to show that many wider trends across a number of different areas can potentially influence the practice of international librarianship in these three aspects.

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International Librarianship Can Take Many Forms Many current practices in librarianship lend themselves to international practice if they include working with people in different countries or across borders. Some forms of these practices, however, are changing due to wider trends. For example, digital preservation is a shared concern of librarians around the world. Changing definitions and legal restrictions of copyright in particular countries, however, may restrict its unfettered international use. Similarly, forms of scholarship and scholarly communication are changing (in what types of vehicles they appear, for example, such as blogs or other forms of social media) as well as methods of distribution. The open-access movement sweeping across libraries has highlighted some of the problems of libraries keeping restricted access to users behind paywalls. This means that library users in developing nations have limited access to information that is more readily available to library users in developed nations. Changing forms and costs of technology could also influence the forms of international librarianship that can be put into practice. Access to newer forms of technology and the ability to pay for these will continue to divide librarians and library users in developing and developed nations. These trends can severely limit a librarian’s ability to support students and faculty in different geographical settings. So while virtual borders may disappear, trends that limit the connection of information across borders continue. An increasing focus on interdisciplinarity in research could also potentially change the ways in which international librarianship can be practiced. Increasing interdisciplinarity in research could affect collections building work in libraries, the cost of connections to maintain them, and the professional knowledge of librarians in supporting their discovery, evaluation, and use by both domestic and international patrons. Librarians physically working abroad could be subject to wider trends as well. Increasing border security, tighter visa restrictions, and unstable currencies could all presumably affect where a librarian might want to work or travel to study. The many forms that international librarianship can take, such as humanitarian, educator, virtual connector, and global resource sharer, seem infinite. Putting these into practices subject to some of the trends noted above, however, could potentially make different forms of practice more finite.

International Librarianship Can Be Practiced at Home Changing political landscapes in Western countries, with a newer and sharper focus on more inward-looking nationalism, may influence opportunities for librarians to practice international librarianship in home settings in these

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places. The political realities of recent changes in leadership and direction caused by government elections in 2016 in Western countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, for example, may potentially discourage students from other nations studying there if they think that they would not be welcome. Fewer international students enrolling in universities in these countries could potentially limit the practice of international librarianship at home in these settings. On the other hand, these recent political trends may offer some positive outcomes as well, depending on one’s perspective. One such positive outcome might be that international higher education initiatives, development, and support will become better known and used in parts of the world beyond those areas where more inward-looking political nationalism is currently being emphasized. And another positive outcome might be an underscoring of the need to understand diversity in home settings better in general, which could perhaps lead to renewed calls for better support for global citizenship and intercultural awareness efforts at home. Political unease could potentially affect the willingness of domestic students and faculty members to study, teach, or do research abroad in certain locales. It could also affect international school librarians who work with expats and other nationals working in foreign countries by changing the clientele of their schools. Political trends could change the tenor and the capacity of governments to sponsor more refugees and immigrants in home settings, which could affect the work of public libraries. Political concerns regarding Western notions of academic freedom may further limit the expansion or perceived benefits of transnational education endeavors. Financial trends could potentially affect the practice of international librarianship at home. Financial concerns of home institutions, for example, could lead to more questioning of the cost benefits of setting up satellite campuses abroad with support from home. Financial trends in governments could change the composition of international students abroad. Brazil’s Science without Borders program, for example, and Saudi Arabia’s support for study abroad for its citizens have been curtailed of late, which has had a noticeable effect on international student demographics in the United States. Economic trends could influence where international students (and their parents) decide that higher education should be pursued. The number of Chinese students studying in the United States, for example, could easily be influenced by economic factors if their currency fluctuates wildly or loses value against the American dollar. If middle-class Chinese parents can no longer afford to send their sons and daughters to study abroad for

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economic reasons, particularly if this is coupled with more Chinese universities attaining higher and more prestigious worldwide rankings, library work with international students from China in the United States could further diminish. The many forms of international librarianship and its practice in home settings are probably subject to many of the same wider trends. The first concerns the “how” aspect of international librarianship, while the second concerns the “where.” Wider social, cultural, political, financial, and economic trends do not make that distinction. Reframing, the third finding of this book, is equally subject to all these wider trends as well.

Reframing in International Librarianship Attitude reframing in all aspects of life is subject to many wider trends, and the practice of international librarianship is no exception. Reframing can alter the perspective of what the purpose of a library may be on many levels that could affect the understanding and practice of international librarianship. One wider reframing that could serve as an example of trends currently at work outside the library is new questioning of the perceived value of global citizenship. In a January 2017 article in Inside Higher Education, an online newsletter of higher education news, the concept of global citizenship was examined in light of recent nationalist rhetoric coming from both the United States and Britain. The article stated that: …the concept of “global citizenship,” – a term that has many definitions but in general implies things like an attitude of empathy and openness, an appreciation of diversity and multiculturalism, an awareness of global interconnectedness, and a sense of civic obligation to do one’s part to address global problems – has very much been absorbed into the ethos of American universities. Redden (2017, p. 1)

The article then went on to examine briefly recent American political rhetoric that claims global is the opposite of local, and British political rhetoric that claims being a citizen of the world means you are a citizen of no country, through this reaction: The most startling aspect of [these positions are] not [their appeal] to nationalism and the politics of patriotism and identity…but the binary nature of the choice: you cannot be a citizen of your country and of the world; you must choose…this is a genuine challenge to the very concept of internationalization as it has come to be understood in the higher education sector. Redden (2017, p. 1)

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Whether national citizenship and global citizenship can be understood as a “both/and” combination or an “either/or” choice cannot be determined here. At the very least, however, the new questioning over what global citizenship means in the wider political sphere in which libraries operate could potentially affect reframing for international librarianship. It could reframe how libraries may be understood to be involved in internationalization, which could in turn potentially affect how international librarianship might be practiced. Other wider trends that may involve reframing are more pointed political and social aspects specifically aimed at what a library is and should be. In one example, is a library a political institution itself? Merklen (2016) considers that very question in his article on French public libraries, published at a time of terrorist attacks in France. In another example, is a school library an institution that needs to promote social justice? This question is considered by Dadlani and Todd (2015) in an article that looks at the use of information technology in school libraries from a social justice perspective.These larger questions necessitate some kind of reframing simply to answer them; that they are even being asked is an indication that larger social and political trends are in play in librarianship today. Other reframing perspectives offer further challenges for librarians interested in more deeply understanding and practicing international librarianship in changing times. For libraries that operate within university settings, for example, changing understandings of just what a university is could affect the practice of international librarianship. If, for instance, the current emphasis on employability sharpens, it will no doubt affect the types of collections, services, and program support provided by the library to all students and staff, whether domestic or international. A reframing of teaching away from in-person toward hybrid or fully online settings may also affect librarians interested in international librarianship. For example, if library support is necessary for online courses, does it matter where the students live? Is there really any need to take account of borders at this point? If not, that situation could potentially reframe “international librarianship” into “librarianship” only. The do-it-yourself culture starting to appear in educational settings, another current trend, could bring about reframing as well. The use of maker spaces in libraries is a good example. If the purpose of a library becomes less about helping patrons find information because they are able to do that on their own now, what becomes the role of the librarian? Reframing is key to answering that question, as is a consideration of whether

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its understanding would be the same or different with international aspects present (with international students in a home setting, or with domestic students abroad, for instance). And if the current emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math continues to strengthen, what is the role of the humanities, where do librarians fit in these equations, and would international aspects play any different role here either? How attitudes would need to change to reframe these challenges and opportunities is an open question. While I cannot offer any distinct answers as to how the trends mentioned here will affect the practice of international librarianship, I do note that their consideration is important. All these bigger trends have the ability to trickle into the daily life and workings of librarians interested in participating in various form of international librarianship both at home and abroad. How some of these trends may play out in the practice of international librarianship cannot be accurately predicted, but their influence should be recognized and not underestimated.

INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES Individual circumstances and abilities to react to these trends are another point that bears mentioning, because they may influence how individual librarians may be able to engage in international librarianship in different settings. Every librarian in every library is in some sense in a unique position. People differ, settings differ, policies differ, and surroundings differ. However, every librarian, whatever their unique situation may be, still has to work within a system of supports and constraints that may be affected by the trends described in this chapter. Individual librarians may have varying levels of control over how these trends affect their work situations. Settings and circumstances can most definitely be affected by trends; individual inclinations and interests of individual librarians may or may not be. None of us is immune, however, since we do not work in a vacuum.

ANCHORING THE PRACTICE OF INTERNATIONAL LIBRARIANSHIP Maybe what could best secure the place of international librarianship among all these trends could be the basic sense of what “international” means. As noted earlier, the etymological meaning of “international” is “between nations.” Anchoring the practice of international librarianship to

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library work conducted between people from different nations could be a good way forward. If its evolving future forms shift on the surface in terms of how they are conducted, perhaps tethering these new forms to that principle could sustain its presence. In other words, in remaining true to the principle that it is library work conducted between people of different nations, international librarianship has a reason to remain relevant. And if the profession as a whole does move toward the more universal and encompassing ideal of global librarianship, it would still be rooted in the idea that connecting people between different countries is the basis for that ideal.

SUMMARY International librarianship on both an individual and a professional scale is subject to influence by many trends in the current era, from educational to social, cultural, and political, as well as many others. The trends mentioned in this chapter span local contexts and worldwide perspectives. They reflect themes from international education, such as internationalization in general, global citizenship, intercultural awareness, and transnational education.They represent trends in the profession of librarianship itself, such as internationalization, sustainability, technology, and changing understandings of physical library spaces.They represent wider social, cultural, and political trends, such as changing norms in the practices of teaching and learning, economic globalization, shifting worldwide immigration and refugee patterns, and changing political outlooks in national governments such as the United States and across various political landscapes such as the European Union. These trends represent a snapshot of current changes in the air. In naming them and considering their potential impact, librarians interested in international librarianship can hopefully situate their own practice within these larger contexts. While international librarianship may not be immune to big trends that can potentially influence and define its working environment, it can also carve out a unique path in anticipating and responding to these trends. An understanding of these deeper trends can help librarians interested in participating in international librarianship be aware of what types of influences its practice may be tied to. And an honest consideration of personal circumstances, coupled with the goal of anchoring international librarianship to library work between people of different nations, can potentially offer a more informed way forward. Considering the themes and trends in this chapter represents a way to ground the reality of practicing international librarianship in a specific time

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and place. Now that our understandings of international librarianship have shifted from concept to reality, a further grounding will tie its expression more firmly to practice.The next chapter looks at very practical and realistic ways to move the practice of international librarianship forward.

REFERENCES ACRL Research Planning and Review Committee. (2016). 2016 top trends in academic libraries: A review of the trends and issues affecting academic libraries in higher education. Chicago: American Library Association. Available online at http://crln.acrl.org/content/ 77/6/274.full. Birch, S. (2016). User services and instruction. International insights column. College and Research Libraries News, 77(11), 551–554. Center for the Future of Libraries. (2017). Library of the future: Trends. Chicago: American Library Association. Available online from http://www.ala.org/transforminglibraries/ future/trends. Dadlani, P., & Todd, R. J. (2015). Information technology and school libraries: A social justice perspective. Library Trends, 64(2), 329–359. Davis, G. R. (2015). New imperatives for librarianship in Africa. Library Trends, 64(1), 125–135. IFLA. (2016). IFLA trend report. Available online at http://trends.ifla.org/. Global and local internationalization. In E. Jones, R. Coelen, J. Beelen, & H. de Wit (Eds.), (2016). Global perspectives on higher education (Vol. 34). Rotterdam,The Netherlands: Sense Publishers. Kyrillidou, M. (2000). Research library trends: ARL statistics. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 26(6), 427–436. McGillis, L. (2016).The lights are on, but nobody’s home:The future of academic libraries? Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research, 11(1), 1–5. Available from https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/perj/article/view/ 3657/3755#.WC8tm7IrLcs. Merklen, D. (2016). Is the library a political institution? French libraries today and the social conflict between Démocratie and République. Library Trends, 65(2), 143–153. Redden, E. (2017). No certificate of global citizenship. Inside Higher Education. Available online at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/01/10/amid-turn-toward-nationalism-globaleducators-consider-their-work?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=78f7df 951f–DNU20170110&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-78f7df951f198489485&goal=0_1fcbc04421-78f7df951f-198489485&mc_cid=78f7df951f&mc_eid= 13c7d0958d. United Nations. (2017). Sustainable development goals. Available from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs. de Wit, H. (2011). Misconceptions on internationalization of higher education. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: University of Applied Sciences. Available from https://intranet.umanitoba.ca/ academic_support/catl/media/Misconceptions_on_internationalization_of_HE.pdf.

CHAPTER 10

What Next? Moving International Librarianship Forward This book has moved from concept to reality in its consideration of international librarianship. The research findings that form its conceptual aspects indicate that there are many ways to put international librarianship into practice, that it can be practiced at home, and that reframing is an important element of its practice. Chapter 9 moved the discussion from concept to reality by discussing trends that may affect or influence its practice in the present day and time. Continuing on from this very realistic and practical point of view, a logical question might then be what next? Given that there are many ways to explore and engage in international librarianship, and that there may be some constraints beyond our control, which ways might be best to move the practice forward? As noted in the chapter that describes the many forms of international librarianship practiced at home and abroad, considering what is “best” has many qualifications, not least of which is considering the “best for whom” question. In this chapter, “best” is generally used to mean to the advantage of the professional practice of international librarianship. So “best” here refers mainly to the profession, although some personal benefits may also be included. This chapter considers some of the ramifications of the “what next?” question for the practice of international librarianship within the profession of librarianship. It offers considerations for assessment, added value, and best practices. It then offers further considerations for its implementation in terms of geographical levels, nationality of participants, and the role of global English in its practice. The purpose here is to take what has been learned about international librarianship in the earlier pages of this book, keep in mind the trends that may inform its practice, and consider how best to proceed in terms of where to go next. The forward-looking statements in this chapter are not meant to be seen as descriptive “state-of-the-art” comments. Instead, they are meant to seed questions that can fuel practical discussions about the future of international librarianship in both personal and professional terms. International Librarianship at Home and Abroad ISBN 978-0-08-101896-5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101896-5.00010-7

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ASSESSMENT As noted in Chapter 9, there are many trends in play now that influence the practice of librarianship. Sustainability, technology, and changing ideas about library spaces are three that were mentioned and can impact international librarianship. Another library trend that speaks to a bigger set of issues going forward is the value of libraries in general. Libraries cost money. The reason for their existence is being questioned on many levels. Showing value has become a large concern in the profession. The recent “Libraries Transform” campaigns by the American Library Association, for example, stresses these very points (http://www.ilovelibraries.org/librariestransform/), as does “The Value of Academic Libraries” by the Association of College and Research Libraries (http://www.ala.org/ acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/issues/value/val_report.pdf). A consideration of the future of international librarianship is a part of this bigger need to show value. If libraries in general are having difficulty in justifying and receiving adequate funding for providing service to their local communities, where does this leave international library work? If nothing else, it may point to the need to include assessment as part of its future too. Assessment should therefore be considered for the future of international librarianship. In terms of moving forward from the content of this book, useful assessment questions to consider could include the following. • Which of the forms of international librarianship described in this book are better than others to participate in? • How can these different forms be ranked in terms of worth? • How should worth be defined? For example, as financial worth, amount of time invested, learning outcomes, satisfaction of librarians? • How can the worth of these forms be assessed? What instruments could be used? • What assessment variables should be considered? • Who should do the assessment? • Should assessment be individual and/or institutional? These questions do not have simple answers, but they are still important considerations to ponder. A healthy dose of realism in knowing how much time might be involved in setting up or participating in an international library project, for example, can be helpful before plunging in. Interested librarians also need to be realistic about how much time and effort they can invest in projects of this nature, given their other responsibilities.

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None of this is meant to discourage participation in international librarianship. Instead, it is meant to open a slate of considerations to take into account. As mentioned in the last chapter, each of us works in our own unique library situations. Some of these situations encompass factors we cannot control. So considering scope, expense, and time commitments for a new project is not a waste of time, but can offer a sense of what types of projects might work best for each of us in our own circumstances. One driving force behind participation in international librarianship could be the underlying need to demonstrate added value.

ADDED VALUE If assessment can be accomplished in any of the ways above, it will lead to further questions. One of the most substantial might be how does participating in international librarianship add value to my job as a librarian? This once again is not simple to answer. However, the contents of this book may offer some clues. Making use of internationalization at home, for example, could help justify participation in international librarianship. If an institution has a documented goal to improve internationalization, such as in a strategic plan, a librarian interested in international librarianship could use this plank to make a case for participation. Using evidence from the literature of higher education that advocates supporting its international aspects may also help. And taking examples of what forms of international librarianship at home could look like can at least amplify any discussion of what is possible. Once again, however, measuring the added value could be the difficult part of any proposal or conversation. This is where publicly documented measures of what defines success in international librarianship could prove truly useful. Some of those measures could come from the literature of librarianship, as for example the forms of assessment used by Langer and Kubo (2015) in determining if an information literacy program for international students was successful. Other measures may come from reports or white papers made publicly available and designed to be shared widely. An example of this type of document is the University of Regina’s Internationalization Plan, which includes targeted goals and numbers, with the library mentioned briefly as a resource implication in the goal to internationalize the curriculum (http://www.uregina.ca/strategic-plan/ assets/docs/pdf/internationalization-plan-2016-2020.pdf). While the

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mention of the library in this report does not offer a measure of international librarianship directly, the inclusion of the library as a partner in campus internationalization efforts may nevertheless open the door to a consideration of how participation in international librarianship could help support that goal. The need to be creative can be seen from the example above. Librarians interested in international librarianship can draw from many sources to support the value of participating. Stressing the advantages of such participation can flavor the conversation and point out the benefits to be gained. And documenting the success of such ventures for other librarians can also help to drive forward the conversation about how best to propel the future of international librarianship.

BEST PRACTICES As with how best to engage in assessment in terms of what should be assessed and how, identifying best practices in international librarianship could be a difficult but worthy pursuit. The identification of best practices might logically flow next after particular forms of international librarianship have been assessed as good for interested librarians to participate in. Questions regarding best practices could then explore the following. • Which practices of international librarianship are the best? • How should a librarian choose which one to engage in? • Is there one set of best practices that works for all librarians? • Do best practices vary by circumstance or other factors? Similar to the assessment questions, these questions concerning best practices defy simple answers. It may very well be that individual librarians are better suited to one type of practice over others, depending on a variety of factors, mitigating circumstances, or personal interests and inclinations. What a closer examination and identification of best practices can offer, however, is at least a useful departure point for a deeper consideration of international librarianship. By that I mean instead of needing to use an entire book like this one as a tool to identify what practices can constitute international librarianship, a list of best practices at least gathers them together in a compact format. This format would also include the implication that these are good practices to engage in, since that determination would hopefully have been done before they were added to a best practices list.

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Examples of recent best practices development, list creation, guidelines, and overviews that may inspire some intrepid librarian out there to attempt this feat for international librarianship include: • best practices for embedded librarianship (Andrews, 2015) • best practices for library graphic design (Wakimoto, 2016) • best practices for LibGuides (Gonzalez & Westbrook, 2010) • best practices for marketing and promoting library collections ( Jackson, 2016) • best practices for ebook purchases (Simon, 2014). These reports and studies are not meant to be exact templates for developing and identifying best practices in international librarianship. Their usefulness instead lies in how they describe what the different best practices are, and in sharing how they were determined. The time seems very ripe for developing a best practices list for a deeper understanding of fruitful ways for librarians to participate in international librarianship. This is not to imply that no best practices work has been done in international librarianship, however. This work has begun on some of its various manifestations. Melissa P. Johnston (2013), for instance, has written a very useful description of best practices for school librarians interested in pursuing international exchanges, using exchanges between German and American teacher librarians as an example. And Nancy Bolt and Janet Lee (2016) have offered a similarly useful review of international partnerships from the point of view of administrators in libraries. Rather than saying that there is a complete void of best practices in international librarianship, then, I instead note that a more general list might be a more easily grasped tool for librarians new to its practice. For example, a list of best practices that included the more widely understood forms of practicing international librarianship, such as working abroad and engaging in exchanges, as well as other forms that might lend themselves to internationalization-at-home initiatives could offer such insight. This type of a list could portray the wide scope of possibilities for participating in international librarianship while also potentially offering some kind of sense of which forms could offer the best experiences and personal results for interested librarians. Considerations for moving the understanding of international librarianship forward can take many forms, as with its practice. Considering assessment, added value, and best practices are but a few ways that its practice can be more deeply understood and experienced.

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Beyond considerations of how its various forms of practice can be evaluated, measured, rated, or justified, there are many other factors outside these boundaries worth thinking about. One such consideration is whether varying geographical levels can inform international librarianship in any way. Another is if the nationality of its practitioners can add any value to its practice. And the final one offered here is if the global role of the English language can in any way better support its practice. As with the considerations above, these represent only a few aspects worth considering or discussing to drive its future practice forward.

GEOGRAPHICAL LEVELS Given the current political trends in some parts of the Western world appearing to emphasize the negative aspects of immigration and perceived lowered living standards ascribed to globalization, a consideration of geographic levels may be in order. By this I mean the practice of international librarianship in different geographic ways might be worth thinking about. To be international, as understood in this book, is meant to signify “between nations” or between people from different countries. In the current political climate, however, it may be opportune to look at regional or cross-regional locales as potential soil from which to grow international librarianship. For example, the university I work at is located in the southern part of Ontario, a province of Canada which is a stone’s throw away from the US border in Niagara Falls, New York. If I were to set up a library program with a sister library in New York State, that would formally be an international program because it crosses a national border. However, given the geographic proximity, in many ways it might also be considered a regional program. In this same way, perhaps library programming and projects that involve local settings can mirror international setups but extending across regions instead of nations. Certainly boundaries and borders abound in many forms. They are evident in urban–rural settings, in settings that cross state/provincial lines, and in settings that run from one demographic area to another area that differs in terms of culture, language, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, etc. Finland, for example, has started exploring the concept of regional librarianship to connect small libraries in various regions within the country (http:// slq.nu/?article=new-tasks-for-librarians-the-small-library-perspective; Ainali, 2002).

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So perhaps one way to move the practice and understanding of international librarianship forward is to imagine its use in different, more localized settings that can still teach us about making connections across borders. Although not explicitly named or formally identified as a prototype or form of international librarianship, these types of programming and library work are evident all around us. Participating in projects that support literacy initiatives, multicultural programming, and diversity and inclusion efforts could also benefit international librarianship by applying the lessons learned. The IFLA/UNESCO Multicultural Library Manifesto (2012) speaks to this need for libraries to work actively across these types of borders (http:// www.ifla.org/files/assets/library-services-to-multicultural-populations/ publications/multicultural_library_manifesto-en.pdf). Differing geographical levels exist along a whole continuum of borders, beginning with local, progressing to regional, then to national, and then on to international (between nations), and ending with global (universal). If seen as a progression of borders, no effort would be wasted in working anywhere along this continuum of geographical possibilities. Thinking in these terms could potentially allow librarians interested in international librarianship to engage first in international-type projects at a different border level. In considering library work at different geographical levels, I am not suggesting that interested librarians abandon any hope of engaging in work involving people from different countries. All I offer here is that potentially more localized forms serve the greater good of moving the practice of international librarianship forward.

NATIONALITY OF PARTICIPANTS Another consideration in moving toward a deeper understanding of the practice of international librarianship may be a second look at the nationality of its participants. Chapter 1 offered an overview of the literature of international librarianship, which is dominated in many ways by Americans. As an American myself, I am not denigrating these contributions. In fact, I find most of them to be very useful perspectives, giving me other ways to think about international librarianship that might never have occurred to me. However, the practice and understanding of international librarianship would still benefit from more contributions by librarians outside the United States. As with the best practices section above, I do not imply that there are no contributions; to the contrary, the literature on international

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librarianship continues to add insights from librarians outside the US. Examples of some very interesting contributions that look at comparative aspects include: • a study of higher education libraries in Portugal (Melo, Pires & Tayeira, 2008) • a study of open access in Poland (Krynicka, 2012) • a study of outreach programs of libraries in China (Kang, 2016). Perhaps a way to move forward with further contributions would be for American librarians to consider collaborating with librarian colleagues in other countries. Some interesting examples of collaborative work like this include: • a study exploring different library service models in the United States and China (Johnson, Shi, & Shao, 2010) • a study on a school librarian exchange program for librarians in the United States and Spain (Houston, 2006) • a study of partnerships between serials librarians in the United States and China (Scherlen, Xiaorong, & Cramer, 2009). The nationality of the authors above is obviously not the sole criterion for the worth of their contributions. What their nationality can indicate, however, is that their contribution is coming from a practicing librarian outside the United States who can potentially offer a wider perspective on the practices and understandings of international librarianship. Rather than this causing their contribution to be set aside, it should instead cause it to be embraced for any new potential insights it can offer to those of us practicing librarianship in the United States.

GLOBAL ENGLISH The last consideration that this chapter offers as food for thought about the future of international librarianship is the role of English in its practice. For consideration are three points about language and library intersections that may help to illuminate further the practice of international librarianship. The first point is that most American librarians experience international students’ library uses through the lens of a deficit model. I offer this here as a counterpoint to the idea that internationalization efforts at home can constitute a form of international librarianship, an idea that appears frequently in this book. When looking at internationalization at home, these efforts are meant to be seen in a positive light. The reality, however, is that many librarians who work with nonnative speakers of English in home settings often seem to employ a more negative framework.

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The deficit model means that students who are nonnative speakers of English and use our facilities are often thought of as more lacking in many abilities (library, academic, linguistic, and cultural) than those with a higher proficiency level in English. Conteh-Morgan referred to this set of librarian perceptions as the “deficit model”: …the insistence on differences, the negative meanings imputed to them, and the persistence of these in the literature over the decades, have led librarians, whether consciously or unconsciously, to construct a one-dimensional image of international students. These students are depicted as constituting an accretion of deficits, and this image has struck in the collective minds of librarians Conteh-Morgan (2003, p. 2)

Although these words were written over a decade ago, they still ring true today. I offer them here as a reminder of our own assumptions about working with international students, and as a way to remember that use of English by nonnative speakers in libraries can be interpreted in both negative and positive ways.To focus on the positive ways, it may help to see English usage as one ability point among others. And reframing can be employed here as well to view library work with nonnative speakers as a form of internationalization at home and a way to practice international librarianship. In the latter interpretation, it allows us to see nonnative speakers as bringing positive benefits to our internationalization-at-home efforts when we work with them. Given that the questions in the online survey asking about the role of the English language garnered a tremendous amount of feedback, it appears that thinking about English usage is not a common topic in librarianship. In addition, the “nice, but not necessary” slant to many comments about learning languages other than English ought to be acknowledged by those of us who are native English speakers. It does privilege our position in some ways and requires others to meet us where we stand, not where they stand or somewhere in the middle. In these comments, I am in no way implying that English is the best language for librarianship, because those comments are not meant to be a value judgment. Instead, I simply remind native-English-speaking librarians that acknowledging this reality might be helpful for furthering our understanding of the practices of international librarianship. The second point worth considering about the use of English in international librarianship is that librarians all around the world already make use of it in very practical and interesting ways that we as native speakers

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might not be aware of. For example, a librarian I interviewed in Germany for another research study shared with me her syllabus for teaching information literacy in a German library school program (Bordonaro, 2015). The entire course was conducted in English, complete with English readings on library topics. The fact that she had constructed this course from scratch and built it entirely in English was very impressive to me, although it seemed matter of fact to her. This is just one small example of how English is already embraced in library settings in many locations around the world. The literature of international librarianship is of course another setting where English is present in many impressive ways. Used as a language to disseminate results, the authors of these works who are nonnative speakers are doing a huge favor to the rest of us who might not otherwise be able to understand their findings. And the third point of consideration on the use of English in international librarianship is that we should remember that it serves as a cultural connection between native and nonnative speakers. This speaks to broader issues ranging far beyond international librarianship, but a consideration of the importance of cultural connections is still worth our time. A recent conference that underscores this point was the Times Higher Education Supplement BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and Emerging Economies Universities Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in December 2016 that focused on “reimagining the world-class university.” In a summary report of this conference, its main take-away point was that “students placed an emphasis on culture and values and the need for human connection in a globalized, often de-personalized world” (Coan, 2016, p. 1). The role of language was also highlighted as a primary means of engaging with other students in a discipline. A sociology doctoral student, for example, noted that: …he was fortunate in that sociology was a “very international discipline” giving him access to material in German, French and English “but what happens in Russian, China and South Africa is invisible. We need to create the means of engaging with each other’s language, literature and cosmology. Coan (2016, p. 1)

What does this have to do with the role of English in international librarianship? Perhaps the answer lies in our continuing awareness that it is English that has given those of us who are native speakers the opportunity to make these connections with other librarians around the world. This awareness allows us to see that English is not just a means of transferring information to each other, but it is also a conduit for cultural values.

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It might serve to help us become aware that we can be both senders and recipients of cultural values through this medium of communication. Language, after all, just like librarianship, does not operate in a vacuum, independent of other social and cultural influences.

SUMMARY The contents of this chapter are meant to serve as considerations for librarians interested in the practice of international librarianship. These considerations are not offered as hard-and-fast rules that must be obeyed; rather, they offer food for thought about how international librarianship can potentially be more deeply understood and practiced in a very realistic and practical way. Considerations of assessment, added value, and best practices can inform this deeper understanding, as can considerations of geographical levels, nationality of participants, and the role of global English. Many more factors could also likely be brought to bear. The usefulness in thinking about all these various considerations is that it can hopefully not only broaden our understanding on a conceptual level, but also potentially open the door to more practical, realistic, and interesting practices that could become part of international librarianship. The next chapter takes a brief foray into the role of English in international librarianship by pulling together all its various perspectives interwoven throughout this book and adding some further perspectives to extend its understanding. Following that, the final chapter attempts to tie all the earlier content in the book together and pose one final consideration: can there be a new beginning for international librarianship?

REFERENCES Ainali, E. (2002). New tasks for librarians – The small library perspective. Scandinavian Library Quarterly, 35(2). Available from http://slq.nu/?article=new-tasks-for-librarians-the-smalllibrary-perspective. Andrews, C. R. (2015). Embedded librarian ideas: Best practices explored and redefined. The International Journal of Educational Organization and Leadership, 22(2), 1–14. Bordonaro, K. (2015). Internationalization in German academic libraries: Moving beyond North American perspectives. Libraries and the Academy, 15(4), 677–697. Coan, S. (2016). Students prioritize culture, values in 21st century HE. University World News Global Edition. 440. Available from http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php? story=20161206172522562. Conteh-Morgan, M. (2003). Journey with new maps: Adjusting mental models and rethinking instruction to language minority students. In H. Thompson (Ed.), ACRL Eleventh National Conference Proceedings April 10–13, 2003, Charlotte, North Carolina (pp. 1–10). Chicago: ALA. Available from http://www.ala.org/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/pdf/conteh-morgan.PDF.

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Gonzalez, A. C., & Westbrook,T. (2010). Reaching out with LibGuides: Establishing a working set of best practices. Journal of Library Administration, 50, 638–656. Houston, C. (2006). Building capacity for global education in a school library media education program through international exchange. IFLA Journal, 32(3), 209–213. IFLA/UNESCO. (2012). Multicultural library manifesto. Available online at http://www.ifla.org/ files/assets/library-services-to-multicultural-populations/publications/multicultural_ library_manifesto-en.pdf. Jackson, J. (2016). Making the most of library collections, while multitasking: a review of best practices for marketing and promoting library collections. Against the Grain, 28(4), 38–40. Johnson, M., Shi,W., & Shao, X. (2010). Exploring library service models at Fudan University and Appalachian State University: Experiences from an international librarian exchange program. International Information and Library Review, 42(3)), 186–194. Johnston, M. P. (2013). Investigating an international exchange of best practices between German and American teacher librarians. School Libraries Worldwide, 19(1), 59–71. Kang, Q. (2016). Outreach programs for graduates in top academic libraries in China. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 42(5), 557–568. Krynicka, M. (2012). Open access to national bibliography : Polish approach. Collection Building, 31(3), 120–125. Langer, C., & Kubo, H. (2015). From the ground up: Creating a sustainable library outreach program for international students. Journal of Library Administration, 55, 605–621. Lee, J., & Bolt, N. (2016). International partnerships:Values, benefits, and the library administrator’s role. Journal of Library Administration, 56(3), 209–221. Melo, L. B., Pires, C., & Tayeira, A. (2008). Recognizing best practice in Portuguese higher education libraries. IFLA Journal, 34(1), 34–54. Scherlen, A., Xiaorong, S., & Cramer, E. (2009). Bridges to China: Developing partnerships between serials librarians in the United States and China. Serials Review, 35(2), 75–79. Simon, J. C. (2014). E-book purchasing best practices for academic libraries. Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, 26(1), 68–77. University of Regina, Canada. Internationalization Plan, 2016–2020. Regina, Saskatchewan. Available from http://www.uregina.ca/strategic-plan/assets/docs/pdf/internationalizationplan-2016-2020.pdf. Wakimoto, D. K. (2016). Library graphic design best practices and approval processes. New Library World, 117(1/2), 63–73.

CHAPTER 11

The Role of English in International Librarianship This chapter takes a short side-trip to consider the use of the English language in international librarianship in an extended way. Language topics are sprinkled throughout this book, and the chapter attempts to tie them all together into a coherent whole. The major findings of this book remain: international librarianship can take many forms, it can be practiced at home, and reframing attitudes is an important aspect. The language information that has been collected and conveyed alongside these findings, however, serves to enrich them. For that purpose, this chapter is offered as a way to understand the presence of language in international librarianship in a more cohesive and deeper manner. The chapter conveys information about why I feel that considering the role of English in international librarianship is important. It offers background information explaining my personal interest, a brief summary of how English has been discussed in previous chapters, potential ways to extend these findings, further perspectives helpful to deeper understanding, and a call for hearing new voices.

GENESIS The genesis of this investigation into the presence of English in international librarianship comes from my own background. As noted in Chapter 1, I have been a part-time teacher of ESL (English as a second language) for many years, in addition to being a practicing librarian. So I have long worked with nonnative speakers of English in the United States and Canada in both capacities simultaneously. I have also served for a number of years as a liaison librarian to university departments that deal with language education in various forms, such as departments of modern languages, applied linguistics, education, ESL services, and international services. My day-to-day practice as a librarian is therefore very much rooted in language perspectives. My educational background further supports my serious interest in language study and research. I have a BA in Spanish and German, and after International Librarianship at Home and Abroad ISBN 978-0-08-101896-5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101896-5.00011-9

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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spending a year abroad to study in Germany I obtained an MA in German. That accounts for my foreign-language interest. My second-language interest began with volunteering through Literacy Volunteers, working with immigrants new to the United States who were learning ESL. That very positive experience led me back to graduate school to earn an MEd in teaching English to speakers of other languages, and then on to a PhD in foreign- and second-language education. Since then, I have engaged in a number of research studies that have expanded my educational interests and connected them to my daily librarian practice. These include numerous investigations of the intersections of language learning and library use. For example, I have explored connections between information literacy and writing for international students (Bordonaro, 2008), investigated if library database searching is a language learning activity (Bordonaro, 2010), studied the incorporation of language skills strategies for ESL students in library instruction (Bordonaro, 2011a), looked at recreational reading patterns of international students in academic libraries (Bordonaro, 2011b), researched the phenomenon of internationalization in North American university libraries (Bordonaro, 2013), investigated the intersections between library learning and second/foreign-language learning (Bordonaro, 2014), described how ESL collections in academic libraries can aid internationalization (Bordonaro, 2015a), examined the metaphor of scholarship as a conversation when working with ESL students in libraries (Bordonaro, 2015b), and looked at how German academic libraries work with international students (Bordonaro, 2015c). My current interest in international librarianship comes from my ­foreign- and second-language background as a student, researcher, teacher, and librarian. Because of it, I am inclined to consider questions of language use when approaching the topic of international librarianship. I am consciously interested in explicit second-language use (as, for instance, ­ when a Chinese student learns English in the United States) compared to foreign-language use (as for instance, when an American student learns German in the United States). I am also very curious as to how nonnative speakers of English who are librarians learn and function sufficiently well in English to be able to communicate on international librarianship. This of course also leads to much interest on my part as to the role of English as a global language, and how this role plays out in international librarianship. Why do I feel it is important to consider the role of English in international librarianship? It is because none of us works in a vacuum, as noted in the last chapter. One way to move the whole profession of librarianship

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forward is to understand better our own unique niches and how they relate to the greater whole of the profession. A consideration of language, in particular the role of English, is one way to do that. This chapter, then, offers some considerations of how English is used and how its place is understood by librarians interested in the practice of international librarianship.

ROLE OF ENGLISH FINDINGS The background review of literature in Chapter 1 noted that many articles on international librarianship are written in English by native English speakers and appear in journals that publish in English. Chapter 2 implied that English is the language of choice used by many international and national professional library associations to disseminate information. A rare example of non-English usage was noted in Chapter 2 in the mention of multilingual cataloging projects as one possible manifestation of international librarianship. Extensive results from the online survey in Chapter 3 and the participant interviews in Chapter 4 touched directly on what practicing librarians felt that the role of English is or should be in international librarianship. The survey results showed a strong sense of ambivalence about English use in this arena. Responses to the question “Do you think that librarians interested in international librarianship should know languages other than English?” were almost equally divided between “yes” and “it depends.” Only a very small minority said “no.” This particular survey question also elicited a large number of comments, which helped to explain some of this ambivalence. Two quite common sentiments were that learning languages other than English for international librarianship is “nice, but not necessary,” and that cultural understanding was more important than knowledge of a foreign language. In terms of the “nice, but not necessary” view, the already-established position of English as the common language for both business and scholarly communication was cited by most participants as the most important reason to use English. Variations on comments of this type included “Other languages are helpful, but English is the working language of work situations abroad” and “English is the language of business.” It was also noted that English is often used in teaching: “English was the language of instruction at this university in Central Asia.” Keeping in mind that only half the survey respondents were Americans, it is interesting to note such widespread agreement with these sentiments.

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This could indicate that librarians all over the world, both nonnative and native English speakers, tend to agree that English is the language of choice when discussing and practicing international librarianship. In terms of cultural aspects, many participants felt that cultural understanding was more important than foreign-language knowledge: “[Learning another language] is helpful, but cultural awareness and international experience are probably more valuable” and “Language skills may help. Cultural and professional empathy are more important.” These comments could also represent librarian emphasis on intercultural awareness as a beneficial trait for the practice of international librarianship. Several participants did believe that those interested in international librarianship should learn languages other than English. School librarians working in international schools, for example, seem to feel that it is very important for librarians to know more languages than English: “Recent research shows that children have requested books in their own language, about things which they are familiar with. This makes knowledge of languages other than English essential.” Some offered suggestions for how to do that: “We can learn languages in home settings on phone apps, for example.” The results from the online survey and participant interviews illustrate both ambivalence and a multifaceted perspective on ideas surrounding language use in international librarianship. From acknowledging the primacy of English as a lingua franca for communicating across the world to underscoring the importance of cultural knowledge, the role of English in international librarianship appears to be a relevant topic among librarians interested in its practice. Further findings on the role of English cropped up in other chapters giving analysis and interpretations of the research results. In Chapter 7, for example, moving “from native English speakers to all English speakers” is offered as a reframing example. Its purpose is to help librarians interested in international librarianship not only acknowledge the role of English as a communication medium, but also broaden their understanding that it is not a perfect medium. Limiting factors include the need to help nonnative English speakers make their voices heard by giving them additional language support and encouragement. Knowing that more people in the world speak English as a second language than as a first language could also broaden understanding. Finally, to those of us who are native English speakers, it is important to affirm our privilege and be mindful that we are in a position of asking people to come to us rather than us going to them.

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The beginning points for putting international librarianship into practice also contain information about the role of English. English made an appearance in Chapter 8 in the deficit model of library instruction, which advocates that librarians should not see a lower level of English proficiency as equivalent to a lower level of academic ability, intelligence, or cultural competency. This chapter also noted that English is used as a medium of communication on topics concerning international librarianship that native speakers might not always be aware of. And the use of English as a way to transmit cultural values between native and nonnative speakers that goes far beyond the purviews of international librarianship was also noted. All these considerations of the role of English can potentially open more doors to deeper understandings of its place and use in international librarianship. One way to move that process further forward is to look at some ways to extend these findings. The next section offers some suggestions for doing so.

EXTENDING THESE FINDINGS The findings described above lend themselves to further interpretations. By extending them, a deeper understanding of the role of English in international librarianship may come about. I offer several suggestions in this section as ways to extend these findings. One suggestion is to infuse work with refugees and immigrants in home library settings with an element of second-language awareness. By this I mean that public librarians involved in this are in fact doing library work in a second language even if it is not explicitly described or understood as such. Burmese refugees from the Karen ethnic group being welcomed to the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library in Buffalo, New York, for example, are invited to get a library card in their native language (http://www.buffalolib.org/sites/ default/files/pdf/libcard/CHILD_Karen2-2016.pdf). Library workshops, however, are offered to them in English, as are all other services, because English is the language in which official library work is conducted. These workshops are therefore a form of ESL instruction. A heightened understanding that this library work is also a form of second-language work extends knowledge of the importance of English in this setting. It could also potentially lead to greater cooperation with local literacy agencies serving these same refugee and immigrant communities. Another suggestion is to take this sense of ESL instruction and apply it to other library services to underscore the importance of the element of

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language in their delivery. This means looking at library instruction sessions for nonnative speakers of English in academic libraries as a form of ESL as well. Seen in this way, the use of English in these settings is an integral element of internationalization-at-home efforts as well. Further recognition of the importance of English in internationalization at home offers more explicit ways to recognize the importance of cultural awareness as well. Using English to transmit cultural values has a place in libraries, as it does in all other aspects of life when people from different nations live and work together in communities. Language functions such as greeting, apologizing, offering advice, and expressing gratitude, for example, can all be modeled in library settings. (It might also be noted that this type of modeling is done in a less stressful way than would be the case in a formal classroom, where learners are subject to more official assessment through grading.) Knowing that you are modeling effective language practices, and by doing so you are helping to educate people further about cultural values, can add depth of understanding to librarians who work in situations like this. Deepening an understanding of multiculturalism as a goal in itself is another potential avenue for recognizing the importance of language in international librarianship. Cultural values may be expressed in all languages, after all, not just in English. So librarians being aware of language cannot but help to deepen the quality of interactions between people of different cultures. Extending the “two-way-street” metaphor for internationalization at home to include language awareness is another suggestion. The “two-way-street” metaphor as used here refers to the idea that internationalization at home can only successfully occur through interactions that involve more than one individual librarian. In other words, there need to be at least two players involved, whether those players are a librarian and a library user or a librarian and another member of the institution. Incorporating awareness of the role of English in these interactions can once again heighten their effectiveness in conveying both information and cultural values. It could also aid the very idea of internationalization at home as including a language element, by stressing effective practice and use of English during these library interactions. Pursuant to the idea of the “two-way-street” metaphor in internationalization at home is that a librarian can sometimes be at the other end of the street. In that case, as for example when a librarian goes to work abroad in another library, language awareness may be a boon. Even if a work-exchange program uses English, its use outside the library may not be so prevalent.

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In that case, librarians may find themselves needing to become more aware of different languages or cultural values. A willingness to learn these skills could greatly enhance the international librarianship experience. A final suggestion for extending findings about the role of English is to incorporate language awareness consciously into considerations of wider themes and trends affecting international librarianship.This could happen in different ways. One way is more inward. As noted in Chapter 9 on wider trends, there is no agreement on what internationalization means. Misconceptions include the idea that internationalization is education in the English language. By not construing internationalization to equal simply instruction in English, the door to wider understandings can open and allow for fuller understandings of internationalization to include other aspects, such as the transmission of cultural values in different settings (as in libraries, for example). The other way to consider wider trends is more outward. Awareness of the role of English in international librarianship could be extended by learning more about research trends in education concerning how languages are best taught and learned. If librarians knew, for example, that languages are learned better by hypothesis testing (learners making guesses) than by rote memorizing of bits and pieces of grammar, would it affect how they interact with nonnative speakers? If librarians knew that recasting (offering helpful feedback in the form of a question) was more helpful to language learners than directly saying, “No, that is not how you say it,” would it change their interactions with library patrons? Knowledge can be power in bringing about better interactions between librarians and library users, and language knowledge is no exception. In addition to extending the findings of language presence in the results described above, incorporating perspectives from beyond the research study in this book may prove helpful to a deeper understanding of the role of language in international librarianship.

FURTHER PERSPECTIVES Considering further perspectives from a wider sphere of language information can help librarians develop even deeper understandings of why language can potentially enrich international librarianship. Some of these perspectives can entail internalizing the differences between second-language and foreignlanguage learning, and multilingualism and plurilingualism.

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As mentioned earlier, learning a second language is when a nonnative speaker learns the dominant language of a nation that is not their native language (a Chinese student learning English in the United States, for example). Learning a foreign language is when a native speaker learns a language that is not the dominant language in their country (an American learning German in the United States, for example). Librarians who are native speakers of English are working in English as a second language when they work with library patrons who are nonnative speakers of English in English-dominant countries. Librarians who are native speakers of English are working in a foreign language when they use any language that is not English in their library work in English-dominant countries. The perspectives in this section flow from the foreign-language example above, and seek to address the question of whether knowledge of foreign languages help librarians practice international librarianship in any way. This section cannot answer that, because it does not offer new research to support the answer. Instead, it raises the question simply to see if it can further our perspectives on how international librarianship can potentially be practiced. One perspective that might shed more light on this question is if knowledge of a foreign language can better support domestic students who are studying abroad in non-English-dominant places.The Association of Research Libraries offered a SPEC kit (http://publications.arl.org/Library-SupportStudy-Abroad-SPEC-Kit-309) that looks at how librarians can support studyabroad students, and finds home library support is key (ARL, 2008). What is not mentioned, however, is if this support made use of foreign-language ability of librarians or if it took place entirely in English. Presumably it is the latter, since the reporting universities were English-dominant places. It is interesting to consider, however, if a knowledge of a foreign language on the part of a librarian offering assistance could have further extended library support to library users in any of these instances. Another perspective to consider is whether cataloging and acquiring foreign-language material can be further supplemented by other library services in putting foreign-language knowledge to good use on the part of librarians. In an interesting study, a practicing librarian posited that libraries have a strong role to play in motivating foreign-language students through foreign-language collections: she noted that librarians can act as selectors of foreign-language material, promoters of materials and services that serve first- and second-year language students, and agents for “motivation, support and encouragement to these students” (Reznowski, 2008, p. 418).

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And an additional perspective to consider is if foreign languages could be another entry point into international librarianship. The multiple entry points available could conceivably very easily include entry by foreign-language ability and aptitude on the part of librarians interested in international librarianship.There would seem to be no reason why finding mentors, attending conferences, and making your voice heard could not take place in languages other than English as a way for interested librarians to begin. In fact, use of languages other than English in these capacities could widen entry points to nonnative speakers of English as well as to native speakers of English with knowledge of or abilities in languages other than English. A case in point is the librarians involved in the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking (REFORMA, http://www.reforma.org/), an affiliate organization of the American Libraries Association (ALA). Loida Garcia-Feba, vice-chair/ chair elect of the ALA International Relations Round Table at the time of writing, is very actively involved in issues relating to both international librarianship and Spanish speakers through her work with both the ALA and REFORMA. An additional perspective I offer here takes up that very last point. Use of foreign-language knowledge can happen in both English- and non-Englishdominant locations. The use of both English and Spanish by REFORMA illustrates this nicely. Perhaps in considering future iterations of international librarianship, within-country perspectives could be included as well. Although it is outside the scope of this book, the ways that international librarianship could potentially be practiced in different ways regionally or across different local areas within one country are worthy of future consideration. A local or regional perspective could greatly add to our knowledge of international librarianship. The final perspective worth considering in more deeply understanding the role of English in international librarianship arises from the difference between multilingualism and plurilingualism. Multilingualism is generally understood to mean knowledge of more languages than a native language. It is a language term that moves from monolingualism (knowing one language) beyond bilingualism (knowing two languages) into the realm of knowing many, or multiple, languages. Plurilingualism conveys this same sense of knowing multiple languages, but it shifts the emphasis to cultural knowledge and the ability to move back and forth between languages for more than linguistic reasons. I have explored the use of plurilingualism only briefly in library settings in Germany (Bordonaro, 2015c), but I offer it here

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as a further way potentially to reach deeper understanding of the role of English in these settings. Because English is used as a lingua franca in much of the library world, and its use entails transmitting cultural as well as linguistic information, its use by librarians engaged in international library projects could prove enlightening. More insight into how it is used in non-Englishdominant library settings could offer librarians interested in working or studying abroad much useful cultural information to consider for their deliberations. As can hopefully be seen from the few examples provided above, employing a wider lens of language perspectives could be useful for librarians interested in international librarianship. Understanding the role of English from these wider perspectives can only add to, rather than detract from, our understanding of its role for librarians interested in the practice of international librarianship.

FINDING NEW VOICES This chapter ends on potentially the best way to understand more deeply the role of English in international librarianship, that of hearing from new voices. If librarians who are involved in its practice would consider making their thoughts known about this subject, it could enlighten many of the rest of us. It would also show if the topic is of interest in general to the profession of librarianship. And it could potentially bring together librarians practicing in many different parts of the world. Publishing in English does of course limit options for some librarians. It could very well be worth the trouble, however, of obtaining editing help to make more voices heard if they could be introduced to a broader audience. The linguistic perspectives alone might be intriguing. One linguistic perspective that did inspire me during the writing of this book came from a French sociologist writing about public libraries in France (Merklen, 2016). His main thesis concerned whether or not French public libraries were political institutions, but it was his writing about how libraries are described in the French language that really caught my attention: This paper is not written in French (as I do most of the time), but in English. It is beneficial to write about French libraries in English for an English-reading audience because if I think about this situation of the library as political institution in French, certain words and expressions would be used that cannot be translated directly into English. The expression classes populaires is a good example. It does not mean “working

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class,” “lower classes,” “underclass,” nor “poor people,” but is situated somewhere among social classes, culture, and politics. It refers to several political traditions that date back to remote periods in French history. When we write in French there are words and expressions easy to translate into English. At times there is a direct equivalent, such as translating bibliothèque as “library.” But even in these cases the meaning can change in the transition from one language to another. For example, the French démocratie is not the same as “democracy” in English, and the same applies to république and “republic.” We can speak about liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, and left-wingers and right-wingers, but it is not easy to convey the true French meaning of these terms to readers not familiar with French society. The language in which we write sociology has a large influence on the way we think about society and its institutions, such as libraries, because the knowledge of culture and society is always a situated knowledge. Language sets or determines the place of the observer in the social space or the world (Merklen, 2015) because the sociologist, as well as the anthropologist for instance, is not only a researcher but also a writer (Geertz, 1988). Language sets or determines our reasoning in a political sphere of argumentation, discussion, and even conflict. If we use English as an international or a scientific language, as a lingua franca and not as the language of a specific human group, the language of a specific society, we risk simplifying or erasing the relationship between our observations and the political world in which we work. French bibliothèques exist in the French political world just as South African and British libraries exist within their respective political worlds. Thus it is important to bear in mind that a bibliothèque is not only a library. Merklen (2016, pp. 143–144)

This extended quote gave me much food for thought. It reaffirmed the point made by many librarians in the research study behind this book that English is the lingua franca of scholarly communication in the world today. It reminded me that not every word in every language can be understood in a literal translation. It further reminded me that there are not direct equivalents to either words or phrases between languages. It used terms that I am familiar with in my own personal surroundings, such as Democrat and Republican, to make the point that these ideas also cannot be easily transliterated into a different culture. And it widened my own understanding of social forces on language use that can change linguistic meanings. I think that it is too much to expect that librarians interested or engaged in international librarianship could be thinking about their use of English to the same degree as that displayed in the quotation above.Yet it offers us some evidence that useful perspectives about librarianship can come from outside English and can change meaning when offered in

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English. These are points that we might all keep in mind when pondering deeper meanings of international librarianship in terms of the role of English in its practice.

SUMMARY This chapter took a brief foray into the world of language learning to see if it can add in any way to our understanding of the role of English in international librarianship. The chapter began with an explanation of my personal background interest in looking at librarianship through a language lens, and why I think it is important to think of international librarianship in this way. Next the language findings scattered throughout earlier chapters in this book were presented in one cohesive overview, followed by suggestions for extending these findings by considering further interpretations and supplemented by some additional perspectives on language learning and use beyond the findings of this book. The chapter ended on a note of language awareness provided by a French sociologist who grounded his thoughts in a library setting. The next and final chapter takes all the information presented throughout this book, attempts to wrap it up, and offers a way forward into newer and deeper understandings of international librarianship.

REFERENCES ARL SPEC Kit 309. (December 2008). Library support for study abroad. Washington, DC: Association of Research Libraries. Available from http://publications.arl.org/ Library-Support-Study-Abroad-SPEC-Kit-309. Bordonaro, K. (2008). Exploring the connections between information literacy and writing for international students. Journal of Information Literacy, 2(2). Available from http://ojs. lboro.ac.uk/ojs/index.php/JIL/article/view/RA-V2-I2-2008-1/165. Bordonaro, K. (2010). Is library database searching a language learning activity? College & Research Libraries, 71(3), 273–284. Available from http://crl.acrl.org/content/71/3/273. full.pdf+html. Bordonaro, K. (2011a). Incorporating language skills strategies into library instruction for ESL students. In Declaration of interdependence: The Proceedings of the ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) 2011 Conference, March 30–April 2, 2011, Philadelphia, PA. Available from http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/ confsandpreconfs/national/2011/papers/incorporating_langua.pdf. Bordonaro, K. (2011b). Recreational reading of international students in academic libraries. The Reading Matrix, 11(3), 269–278. Available from http://www.readingmatrix.com/ articles/september_2011/bordonaro.pdf. Bordonaro, K. (2013). Internationalization and the North American university library. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.

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Bordonaro, K. (2014). The intersection of library learning and second-language learning:Theory and practice. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield. Bordonaro, K. (2015a). ESL collections, university libraries, and internationalization. LEAA: Lenguas en Aprendizaje Autodirigido (Self-Directed Language Learning), 7(1). Available from http://cad.cele.unam.mx/leaa/index.jsp?c=0701&p=0701a04-A. Bordonaro, K. (2015b). Scholarship as a conversation: A metaphor for librarian-ESL instructor collaboration. Collaborative Librarianship, 7(2), 56–65. Available from http:// collaborativelibrarianship.org/index.php/jocl/article/view/326/269. Bordonaro, K. (2015c). Internationalization in German academic libraries: Moving beyond North American perspectives. Libraries and the Academy, 15(4), 677–697. Merklen, D. (2016). Is the library a political institution? French libraries today and the social conflict between démocratie and république. Library Trends, 65(2), 143–153. Reznowski, G. (2008). The librarian’s role in motivating language learners: Tales from an Eastern Washington College town. Reference Services Review, 36(4), 414–423.

CHAPTER 12

Ending and Beginning This final chapter serves to wrap up the content presented in the book and offers a way to go forward. It summarizes the three major findings from the research study, offers implications for practice, notes limitations of the research study this book is based on, and points out the need for further research. It offers concluding thoughts about the importance of connections between practice and theory in librarianship. It revisits my original personal definition of international librarianship in light of what surfaced in this book. Finally, the chapter offers a conclusion that may also serve as another beginning.

SUMMARY OF THREE MAJOR FINDINGS This section offers the three major findings stemming from the research study that comprises the core of this book. It briefly describes each finding in summary form.

International Librarianship Can Take Many Forms The first major finding from the research study this book is based on highlights the many forms or expressions that the practice of international librarianship can take.These forms span the gamut from working in a library abroad to working with international students in a home library. As such, they include practices of librarianship that occur both abroad and at home. Library functions that were identified as different ways of practicing international librarianship include librarians acting in the capacities of workers, travelers/visitors, humanitarians, educators, leaders, global resource sharers, and virtual connectors. Some examples of particular practices of these various forms include participating in library study programs abroad, hosting visiting librarians from other countries, participating in global mentoring programs, working with refugees in local public libraries, contributing to multilingual cataloging projects, participating in worldwide digital preservation initiatives, working with children in international school settings, participating in book exchanges with sister libraries, supporting study-abroad students, working with international International Librarianship at Home and Abroad ISBN 978-0-08-101896-5 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101896-5.00012-0

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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scholars in home libraries, conducting library research abroad, fundraising for international library causes, creating and sustaining libraries in developing nations, participating in librarian exchanges, teaching librarianship abroad, providing virtual reference services to international library users, contributing to and building international collections for worldwide users, and assisting international researchers. The most commonly known form of practicing international librarianship, working as a librarian abroad, is one of many forms available; it is not necessarily the only way or perhaps even always the best way of practicing international librarianship.The wide variety of forms identified in this study attests to the many ways that librarians can participate in its practice.

International Librarianship Can Be Practiced at Home The second major finding is that international librarianship can be practiced at home as well as abroad. This widened view of what international librarianship can be emphasizes its multifaceted nature. Practices that illustrate international librarianship at home also have many forms, as evidenced in the summary above. These forms include engaging in librarian work in home settings with users both abroad (such as study-abroad students) and at home (such as international scholars at a home campus). Practicing international librarianship at home can be informed by a deeper understanding of internationalization trends in education. This includes heightened understanding by practicing librarians of ideas concerning global citizenship, intercultural awareness, and how internationalization could infuse the curriculum and research perspectives of library users and supporters such as faculty and higher education administrators. Putting international librarianship into practice at home can also offer practicing librarians in home environments a way to understand their own personal contributions to a wider library profession. It can likewise spark new ideas for practical ways to work with immigrant, refugee, or international student populations in a home library environment. In these ways and many other ways, it can open the door to multiple avenues in which international librarianship can be understood and practiced.

Reframing Attitudes Is an Important Part of International Librarianship The third major finding concerns the importance of attitudes in the practice of international librarianship. It shows that a positive “can-do” attitude on the part of an individual librarian, along with a willingness to view things

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differently, can lead to international librarianship being realized. The attitude is the fuel to making it happen, but the ability to widen one’s own perspective is key. Reframing is the process of widening one’s own perspective. In the research study discussed in this book, reframing takes a number of different forms: reframing the discussion of international librarianship from librarians to libraries, from academic libraries to all libraries, from native English speakers to all English speakers, from American versus non-American to international, from roles to attitudes, from resources to attitudes, from all or nothing to various levels, from abroad only to abroad and at home, from elitism to everyday, and from international librarianship to global librarianship. As a process, then, reframing can give librarians a way to view their own attitudes and practices differently. If employed consciously, it can give librarians many new ways both to view and to put into practice various aspects of international librarianship.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE The major implications for practice that surface from the research conducted for this book flow from these three major findings: international librarianship can take many forms, it can be practiced at home, and attitude reframing is an important feature. For international librarianship to grow, the profession needs to take a more active stance in its support. How it does so is potentially be the biggest implication of all. The many forms of international librarianship can offer practicing librarians various ways to participate and contribute to its growth.These multiple forms speak to the implication that the profession should consider more ways to support international librarianship in all its manifestations. That international librarianship can be practiced at home is one facet of the different forms listed above worth emphasizing separately.Working with community members, refugees, immigrants, students, faculty, and international scholars in home settings can all offer ways for practicing librarians to engage in international librarianship at home. Because home settings are not often initially thought of as places where international librarianship happens, this finding’s implications can potentially open new avenues to explore for more librarians. This second finding also speaks to the implication that the more active support of the profession can help this form of international librarianship flourish.

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Attitude reframing is another important finding, but one that might involve more individual implications than the other two findings from this book. I emphasize it here to underscores its importance in international librarianship. As with many other endeavors in life, success may come from individuals reframing their stance toward something, and then being willing to create opportunities for development. For international librarianship, this could mean more individual librarians cultivating a can-do attitude that has them seeking out ways to participate through self-initiated networking, start-up projects or programs in home-library settings, contributions to the literature, and so on. Rather than waiting to be handed a list of ways to participate in international librarianship, librarians with a can-do attitude can create their own list. And knowing that opportunities exist both at home and abroad could potentially further motivate interested librarians to develop more opportunities. But individual interests and activities can only go so far. If international librarianship is a part of internationalization in general, the profession needs to support its growth. So how can librarianship more actively support interested librarians in exploring and participating in international librarianship? Answers to this question include promoting awareness, connecting interested individuals with other individuals, setting aside resources to support travel or other expenses, and supporting more platforms to examine the topic of international librarianship. In terms of promoting awareness, professional associations such as the American Library Association (ALA) and the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) could make concerted appeals to all librarians to learn more about international librarianship through them. Both organizations do support it already with committees, publications, programming, and in many other ways. But oftentimes they are speaking to librarians who already know about these avenues and are already interested and motivated to learn more on their own about international librarianship. To reach the larger audience of all librarians, online campaigns to inform librarians of what is already available, or widely distributed testimonials from involved librarians, or more widespread sharing of information through blogs, listservs, Facebook posts, etc. with all members could serve to raise general awareness. Or perhaps the many individual library associations that make up IFLA could work together on some sort of united campaign to tell their story to the many practicing librarians who are not their members. Connecting interested individual librarians with each other could also be supported by the profession. Groups such as the International Librarians

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Network offer a good example of potential ways to make this happen. Supplementing opportunities arising for committed individual librarians, perhaps similar initiatives could be explored by groups of librarians who comprise the membership of professional associations. Or potentially joint individual and professional association ventures could be investigated and offered. Funding to finance needed resources, communication costs, and travel or other expenses could be the most difficult type of support for the profession to offer. Professional associations have only so much money available to cover all their needs. However, there may be ways that the profession could offer more financial support to librarians wanting to participate in international librarianship. Maybe fundraising or development could be more widely undertaken to offer further scholarships for in-person travel to international conferences. Or money could be raised or set aside through some kind of lottery or GoFundMe account. Libraries that have more money could sponsor librarians from abroad who have less money to visit them. Maybe financial donations could be collected from the public to support international library resource sharing. Maybe commercial companies could financially support preservation projects that benefit libraries in many countries. There is no denying that sometimes money is needed to cement alliances between librarians in different countries for various reasons. There is also no denying that lack of money is a commonly understood reason for some librarians to not be able to register or travel to conferences such as those put on by IFLA In addition, of course, it costs money to produce material and programs. When financial decisions are made by professional library associations, however, it would be helpful for the support of international librarianship to be one consideration during discussions if the whole profession is to grow and move forward in this area. Offering more platforms to examine the topic is another area where professional library associations can support the growth of international librarianship. By this I mean using the combined strength of professional associations to sponsor conversations, roundtables, webinars, conferences, and so on to discuss it. IFLA has already done this through its webinar series aimed at new professionals. This is to be applauded. Offering more such opportunities would be an excellent way for professional library associations to keep supporting international librarianship and help it to grow. Choosing international librarianship as a theme of future annual conferences could serve to continue highlighting its various aspects to librarians who are not familiar with it. It could also potentially bring many future practicing librarians

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together to examine ways that international librarianship is understood and practiced to a wider audience. Perhaps the biggest take-away from all the implications noted above is that there are plenty of ways for both individual librarians and the profession as a whole to support international librarianship. The future is wide open.

LIMITATIONS This book can only offer a glimpse of the meanings and practices associated with international librarianship. This glimpse came from one particular place and time, North America in 2016, an environment which cannot represent the whole world. The research for this book was conducted at a time of rapid changes in higher education, concerns over globalization and job loss, questions about overreliance on international students in higher education for financial reasons, and a changing political landscape in the United States and Europe in terms of immigration, potential isolationism, and an increasing emphasis on nationalization. I do also note that the research study which forms the core of this book was conducted mostly prior to the acrimonious public debates swirling around Brexit, the United Kingdom’s controversial decision to leave the European Union, and the equally divisive American presidential election that brought polarized rhetoric to the public sphere concerning immigration, refugees, and globalization, among many other issues.Whether or not the survey participants and librarians personally interviewed for this book would have changed opinions in their answers to questions about international librarianship in light of these highly publicized political events is unknown. However, despite the timing of this study, its content remains true as an expression of what practicing librarians in mid-2016 felt most deeply about concerning international librarianship. Further limitations include the research study’s use of English as the only language to contribute to the study, and its initial limited outreach to mainly those librarians already participating in listservs concerning the topic of international librarianship. Because of this limitation, obviously many librarians who may have been interested in contributing to the research might not have been aware of it or had the means or ability to do so. Another limitation was the in-person interviews upon which some of the research was based being limited to only one conference run by the ALA in Orlando, Florida, in 2016. And a further limitation has to do with the unknown identity of the survey respondents. Although the respondents

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could be identified as coming from many different countries, there can be no assumption made that they were nationals of that particular country; they could have been Americans working in those countries. A further limitation is the content of the survey, as already noted in an earlier chapter. The way some questions were asked could be construed as misleading, in particular the questions concerning who is involved in international librarianship and why this might be so. I also did not explicitly ask participants if they thought international librarianship only equaled travel or work abroad, and I did not ask them for any value judgments as to which form of international librarianship they thought was best. Given these limitations, this book can only offer a consideration of what international librarianship means and how it is practiced that reflects one particular moment in time and place. It cannot fully define international librarianship; it can only offer a look at what some librarians think it can be. In offering this glimpse, however, it opens a door to future conversations on the topic of international librarianship. Understandings arising from this particular context can hopefully lend themselves to opening this conversation to wider audiences in the future.

NEED FOR FURTHER RESEARCH The investigation of international librarianship at home and abroad is an ongoing venture. It cannot be simply or fully defined in this book. Future research into international librarianship could offer many more understandings of its nature and practice. A more in-depth investigation of how international librarianship can occur in home-library environments could be enlightening. It could potentially offer many more ways for librarians to understand and engage in its practice. Various home settings could also offer new insights, particularly those outside North America. A deeper understanding of the contributions of international school librarians outside the United States, for example, could open new avenues for investigation of international librarianship in K-12 settings. Reframing our understanding of international librarianship through new theories is also to be recommended. Bringing a broader theoretical framework to its study can help practicing librarians more deeply understand why international librarianship is important, rather than just how it can be done. The door to these types of investigations is wide open at this time.

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More input from librarians in developing nations should also be sought and encouraged to broaden our understanding of international librarianship. Future collaboration between librarians in both developed and developing nations could strengthen our knowledge base and advance the profession worldwide. This deeper consideration of the global aspects of librarianship could also add to our understanding of international librarianship. Focusing on global aspects could potentially move our collective understanding away from a study of differences toward a study of how we can all more fruitfully work together.

PRACTICE AND THEORY Another way for international librarianship to grow is for librarians to acknowledge that practice can be informed by theory. Practice alone can sometimes simply be going through the motions, but theory can add meanings to these motions. I use “theory” here in a small, everyday sense to mean an awareness or deeper understanding of why things are done the way they are, with the idea that looking at them differently can enrich or improve their practice; I am not using it to mean a grand philosophical idea that underpins or explains all aspects of practice. Used in this smaller way, I am simply advocating that we should think more deeply about what we are doing and why. The practice of international librarianship would be improved in my opinion by considering or being aware of theory as well, whether in the smaller or the grander sense. As an example of the smaller sense, if international librarianship were seen as something that could take place both at home and abroad, an understanding of its practice could change too. Working with immigrants in local public libraries, for example, could then potentially be supported by library administrators as a form of international librarianship. Developing an understanding of the importance of theory in international librarianship among practicing librarians could come about in a number of different ways. These could perhaps parallel the suggested ways to begin in Chapter 8, and include fostering discussions on the topic, promoting individual networking, presenting or attending conferences, and contributing to the literature of librarianship. Of these, contributing to the literature of librarianship offers a very direct way to plant the importance of theory in international librarianship. That there is a lack of theory in the literature of librarianship on many

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aspects of the profession is probably evident to most librarians. What could fill this gap in the specific area of international librarianship might be more contributions on why we engage in these activities, rather than how. Perhaps newer contributions will help fill this gap. For example, Sellar (2016) advocates the application of critical theory to advance the understanding of international librarianship. Critical theory in librarianship refers to an emerging understanding that information is not created or consumed in a neutral vacuum, but is instead a product of particular political and social environmental contexts (Elmborg, 2006). In articles that Sellar (2016, p. 5) holds up as good examples of scholarship, she uses attributes such as “international reciprocity and collaboration… as well as introspection and theorizing” as evidence of scholarly work that advances “the librarianship profession.” Her advocacy for critical theorizing stems from concerns over library literature that describes practices but does not incorporate discussion of beliefs or values: …what ideas or values will influence the kind of activities one engages in and how one goes about doing them? ... To that end, critical theorist perspectives are useful to learn about and to consciously apply in IL [international librarianship] work. Because IL is centered upon cooperative relationships involving diverse partners, there are bound to be inequities in those relations. Without identification and examination of those inequities and sources of privilege, we risk doing (continued) cultural harm and deriving generalizations and practices that are flawed, noninclusive, and biased. Sellar (2016, p. 6)

Her points are well taken.Theories, whether small or grand, can illuminate practice. I am not advocating critical theory as the only way to understand international librarianship, but I do advocate thinking more deeply about what international librarianship may mean beyond initial descriptions of traveling or working abroad. Library-school courses in international librarianship, a topic that came up earlier in this book as both a potential form of practice to be seen in documents and a question in the research survey, offer another forum for reconsidering theory. In a study that looked closely at the content of courses designated as “international librarianship” or “global librarianship,” for example, theory does make an appearance through a mention of human rights and the effects of globalization: An increasing number of library schools are offering courses related to “international” or “global studies” librarianship. The content of the courses vary. In some cases, individual speakers are brought in to describe their experiences and approaches to this type of work. In other cases, courses center on a more traditional,

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resource-based approach. It is most interesting, probably because of the nature of librarianship in the United States, that much of the philosophy of teaching in this areas has, at its root, a concern for the information rights of individuals. Civil rights, human rights, and the effects of globalization are all part of the concept of international/global librarianship. Rudasill (2009, p. 512)

This short summary of the study offers a very prescient view of concerns having to do with globalization. It also gives cultural perspectives on individualistic cultures like that of the United States, as well as a social justice perspective on recognizing those rights. I offer it here to illustrate the role that theory can play in supplementing descriptions of library practice. Acknowledging that an understanding or application of theories can inform practice could move the practice of international librarianship forward. If practicing librarians were to write new policies including practices at home as part of their international mission, outreach, and support structures, for example, this could change how other librarians may come to view and practice international librarianship. At the very least, theory and practice could become more woven together and not be seen as two separate fields of endeavor in librarianship.

CONNECTIONS, EDUCATION, AND SERVICE These three themes first appeared in Chapter 2 as examples of international librarianship practices. They have recurred throughout this book. The theme of connections speaks to librarians connecting people with information, connecting librarians with other librarians, and connecting librarians to communities of practice. The theme of education speaks to librarians promoting learning in all its varied guises, from supporting literacy initiatives to sharing best practices among school librarians and creating learning objects for college students. And the theme of service speaks to librarians providing support for learning to take place, such as supporting sustainability initiatives in developing nations or engaging in international digital preservation work. That these three themes should appear in practices of international librarianship should come as no surprise to most librarians.Their seemingly widespread appearance throughout the practices described in this book attests to yet another manifestation of the multifaceted nature of international librarianship. It may also show how these themes serve as broader pillars of librarianship in general.

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REVISITING MY DEFINITION And so, at the end of this book, I circle back to revisit my personal definition of international librarianship offered at the start. My initial definition was that international librarianship was “one profession, many communities, connecting to each other to promote learning globally and locally.” In light of what I have learned about the nature of international librarianship in writing this book—that there are many different ways to engage in it, that it can take place in home settings, and that attitudes are more important than roles for participation—I can now expand my earlier definition. Given my new understandings, I would now define international librarianship as “one profession, many forms, fostering connections both at home and abroad, to support learning worldwide.” I offer this new personal definition because I now see that “many communities” can include homelibrary settings as well as library settings abroad, and that local and global learning can take place in either setting. I also now see that the attitude of striving to foster is an important element of international librarianship. And I offer worldwide as a more encompassing term to mean all librarians everywhere. I believe that this new personal definition still retains the importance of connections, education, and service that were attached to the original. In its new form, however, I tried to add the equally important ideas that international librarianship also includes many different ways to engage in it, that it can be practiced at home, and that attitude is a key ingredient to its taking place.

A NEW BEGINNING At the end of the day, why does all of this matter? Librarianship by its very nature is a global enterprise. As Bliss (1993, p. 42) notes,“Librarianship has been ‘international’ since the days of Alexandria,” because she already sees the inherent international nature of the work of librarianship in day-to-day practice: Efforts to communicate the innately international nature of the profession and to expand the importance and practice of international librarianship have included work by practitioners such as Boaz (1986)… She writes of the need for acceptance of the notion that international librarianship is not the concern of merely the multinational corporations and institutions but, in fact, is the real concern of most libraries and librarians in their daily lives in academic and public libraries, and not just special and research libraries. Bliss (1993, pp. 43–44)

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This book concurs with these sentiments, and further suggests that international librarianship can take many forms, can include settings both at home and abroad, and recognizes the importance of attitude reframing in its practice. International librarianship can take many forms, which comprise many different manifestations of librarian functions in collecting information, making it accessible, and supporting its use to further the learning of the library’s users. It includes librarians acting as travelers, visitors, workers, volunteers, humanitarians, educators, leaders, virtual connectors, and global resource sharers. The distinguishing characteristic that makes all these practices a form of international librarianship is the presence of an international aspect or a sense of crossing national borders between different countries, whether those borders are actual or virtual. International librarianship therefore echoes the general professional themes of connections, education, and service but with an embedded international aspect. International librarianship can include settings both at home and abroad. These different settings can include home libraries as well as libraries in different countries, on transnational campuses, and at international schools. All types of libraries lend themselves to international librarianship as well, including academic libraries, public libraries, school libraries, and special libraries. Internationalization at home opens an avenue to a deeper understanding of international librarianship because it widens the places where it can occur. It emphasizes international connections between people from different countries as the defining element, rather than where these connections take place. And what further supports this deeper understanding of international librarianship is the key element of attitude reframing on the part of librarians. An attitude of willingness to explore international connections in many places and many ways matters more than job roles or already dedicated resources. Self-initiative provides the fuel to open the doors of librarianship to international perspectives and practices. International librarianship is more deeply understood by considering thoughts, attitudes, and outlooks (the why) than it is by considering only what librarians do, where they do it, or how they do it. Attitude is the essence of reframing. And it is in this reframing that a new beginning for international librarianship can be offered. This view emphasizes its egalitarian aspects over any perceived elitist aspects. It underscores the importance of librarians’ personal attitudes in making international librarianship happen.

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International librarianship can take place in many ways in many places, both abroad and at home. Its expressions are potentially unlimited. It is not restricted to librarians who necessarily have more resources, time, money, connections, or other advantages or opportunities to put it into practice. It is also not restricted to librarians who have certain job titles, work in particular professional capacities, or work in specific types of libraries or institutions. Finally, it is not restricted to librarians who speak English or live and work in North America. The practice of international librarianship is open to everyone.

REFERENCES Bliss, N. J. (1993). The emergence of international librarianship as a field. Libri, 43(1), 39–52. Boaz, M. (1986). International education: An imperative need. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 26(3), 165–173. Elmborg, J. (2006). Critical information literary: Implications for instructional practice. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 32(2), 192–199. Rudasill, L. M. (2009). International or global – The expanding universe of librarianship. Libraries and the Academy, 9(4), 511–515. Sellar, M. (2016). Strategies for engaging in international librarianship: Misconceptions and opportunities. SLIS Student Research Journal, 6(1/2), 1–7. Available from http:// scholarworks.sjsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1251&context=slissrj.

APPENDIX A

Online Survey 1. What does international librarianship mean to you? Please check all that apply. working as a librarian in another country going on a brief library study or visit tour abroad hosting a librarian from another country in my library networking with librarians in person from other countries at library conferences connecting online with librarians from other countries participating in international resource sharing sending weeded books to be distributed to developing nations Other, please specify... 2. Which library positions do you think are most involved with international librarianship? Please check all that apply. library directors librarians involved in library resource sharing consortia librarians involved in professional associations collections or acquisitions librarians instruction or reference librarians systems or IT librarians

Other, please specify... 3. Following up on Question 2, why do you think this is so? Please check all that apply. money constraints for librarians in other positions time constraints for librarians in other positions lack of institutional or library support for librarians in other positions lack of interest on the part of other librarians lack of awareness on the part of other librarians

Other, please specify...

  

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APPENDIX B

Personal Interview Guide 1. W  hat does “international librarianship” mean to you personally? Do you have any personal examples or experiences you would like to share (e.g., working as a librarian in another country, visiting foreign libraries, hosting librarians, networking, Better World Books)? 2. Do you think ideas and practices around international librarianship should be more emphasized both in library school and in practice? 3.  Who do you think should be participating in international librarianship? 4. What kinds of library work do you think are international? 5. Do think that knowing other languages and cultures and traveling a lot are important and/or necessary for being an international librarian? 6. Do you think of yourself as an international librarian? Why or why not? 7. Do you have any further thoughts about international librarianship that you would like to share?

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INDEX ‘Note: Page numbers followed by “f ” indicate figures.’

A

D

Added value, 149–150 Ambivalence, 73 American Library Association (ALA), 1–2, 36–37, 53, 167 Assessment, 148–149 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), 36 Attitudes, 63 Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), 20–21

Deficit model, 155 Digital sustainability, 29

B Beginning points attending conferences, 126 borders, 120 connections, 123–128 education, 123–128 identifying examples, 120–121 informal communications, 128 international aspects, 119–120 internationalization, 122–123 literature reading, 126–127 making connections, 123–124 multiple entry points, 119 processes, 120–123 professional associations, 125–126 reframing, 121–122 seeking out mentors, 124 service, 123–128 Bilingualism, 77 Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS), 156

C Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE), 97 CBIE. See Canadian Bureau for ­International Education (CBIE) Core journals, 6–7

E English language, 154–157 Association of Research Libraries, 166 cultural aspects, 162 ESL instruction, 163–164 findings, 161–163 extending, 163–165 misconceptions, 165 new voices, 168–170 two-way-street metaphor, 164 foreign-language students, 166 genesis, 159–161 language functions, 164 perspectives, 165–168

F Forms, international librarianship at abroad attending library conferences, 87 creating/supporting libraries, 86 information science researchers, 87 international book fairs, 88 international development ­organizations, 87 international school library, 85 library abroad, 84 library exchange programs, 86 library internship, 87 library research, 86 networking with library, 87 participating, 85–86 study travel trip, 85 teaching librarianship, 86 visiting libraries, 85 at home, 88–93 assisting international researchers, 91–92

193

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Index

Forms, international librarianship (Continued) book-exchange programs, 90–91 building international collections, 92 building repositories, 90 citizenship classes, 91 clubs for international students, 91 creating multilingual documents, 92 cultures, 91 english language, 91 fundraising, 93 hosting international librarians, 89 international scholars, 90 international students in home libraries, 89 library research with libraries, 91 library school course, 92 material/expertise, 93 meeting visiting librarians, 89 mentoring international librarians, 88–89 publishing internationally, 92 sister-cities programs, 90 supporting study-abroad students, 89 supporting translations services, 92 training international librarians, 88 virtual reference services, 90 webinars for librarians, 90 Future perspectives added value, 149–150 assessment, 148–149 best practices, 150–152 English language, 154–157 geographical levels, 152–153 nationality of participants, 153–154

G Geographical levels, 152–153 German library school program, 155–156 Global collection building, 69 Global Perspectives, 3

I IFLA. See International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Intercultural competence, 14 International awareness, 43

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), 28 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), 20–21, 24, 36 International higher education literature, 13–15 Internationalization at home dual nature, 102 higher education, 97–98 libraries, 98–99 movement, 14 practicing, 99–102 self-beliefs, 103–105 International librarianship background, 3–4 comparative librarianship, 4 connections, 182 core journals, 6–7 critiques, 5 definition, 183, 4–5 disadvantages, 10–13 education, 182 English, 7–9, 8f forms, 173–174 global perspectives, 3 implications for practice, 175–178 intercultural competence, 14 international higher education literature, 13–15 International Insights, 3 internationalization at home movement, 14 library services, 15 limitations, 178–179 new beginning, 183–185 noblesse oblige, 11 North America, 5–6 North American content, 9–10 practice, 180–182 practiced at home, 163–165 reframing attitudes, 174–175 research, 179–180 service, 182 study-abroad literature, 14 theory, 180–182 transnational education, 15

Index

International Relations Round Table (IRRT), 2 Interviews attitudes, 63 being international, 55–58 connections and collaborations, 63 definitions, 58–64 educator, 67–68 english language, 75–78 functional roles, 70–73 geographic markers, 62 global resource sharer, 69–70 humanitarian, 67 individual responses, 60–61 international librarianship, 58–59 leader, 68–69 librarian roles, 65–70 participants, 53–55 patterns of responses, 62–64 school course, 73–75 self-belief, 63 traveler/visitor, 66 virtual connector, 69 worker, 66–67 young-adult experiences, 56

L Libraries Transform campaigns, 148 Library services, 15

M Multilingualism, 167–168

N Nationality of participants, 153–154 Networking, 63 NGram, 8–9 Noblesse oblige, 11 North American content, 9–10

P Plurilingualism, 167–168 Practices conference, 23–24 connections, 32 course goal, 25b–26b document analysis, 31–33

195

from documents, 19–31 education, 32 general librarianship collections, 28–29 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), 20–21 intriguing examples librarians without borders/better world books, 30 multilingual cataloging, 29–30 new immigrants and refugees, 30–31 public library work, 30–31 sister libraries, 30 library science education, 25–28 policies, 23 preservation, 29 professional associations, 20–22 professional programs, 22–23 professional support and services, 20–25 service, 32–33 standards and guidelines, 24 workshops, 24–25

R RDA Toolkit, 29–30 Reframing abroad and at home, 114–115 academic libraries to libraries, 110–111 American versus non-American, 112–113 defined, 107–117 elitism, 115–116 English speakers, 111–112 forms, 114 international librarianship to global librarianship, 116–117 librarians to libraries, 109–110 resources to attitudes, 113 roles to attitudes, 113 Resource sharing, 29

S Self-belief, 63 Sharing, 63 Sharing global resources, 101 Study-abroad literature, 14

196

Index

Survey, international librarianship considering yourself, 50–51, 51f curriculum, 43–44, 44f functions, 45–47, 46f importance, 42–43, 43f learning ways, 47–49, 48f library positions, 40–41, 40f reasons for, 41–42, 42f methodology, 35–37 participants, 37, 37f timeline and distribution channels, 36 multilingualism, 44–45, 45f personal meaning, 38–40, 39f results, 38–51 travelling abroad, 49–50, 49f

T Themes anchoring, 144–145 forms, 140

global citizenship, 133–134 individual circumstances, 144 intercultural awareness, 133 international higher education, 132–134 internationalization at home, 132 library spaces, 138–139 practiced at home, 140–142 reframing, 142–144 sustainability, 136–137 technology, 137–138 transnational education, 133–134 trends, 134–144 Transnational education, 15

U UNESCO Persist program, 29