Serving Library Users From Asia

Asian populations are among some of the fastest growing cultural groups in the US. While books on serving other target groups in libraries have been published (e.g., disabled, Latino, seniors, etc.), few books on serving library users of Asian heritage have been written. Thus the timely need for this book. Rather than a generalized overview of Asians as a whole, this book has 24 separate chapters—each on 24 specific Asian countries/cultures of East, Southeast, and South Asia—with a wealth of resources for understanding, interacting with, outreaching to, and serving library users of each culture. Resources include cultural guides (both print and online), language helps (with sample library vocabulary), Asian booksellers, nationwide cultural groups, professional literature, and more. Resources and suggestions are given for all three types of libraries—public, school, and academic—making this book valuable for all librarians. The demographics of each Asian culture (numbers and distribution)—plus history of immigration and international student enrollment—is also featured. As a bonus, each chapter spotlights a US public, school, and academic library providing model outreach to Asian library users. Additionally, this book provides a detailed description and analysis of libraries in each of the 24 Asian countries. The history, development, facilities, conditions, technology, classification systems, and more—of public, school, and academic libraries—are all discussed, with detailed documentation. Country conditions influencing libraries and library use are also described: literacy levels, reading cultures, languages and writing systems, educational systems, and more. Based on the author’s 15 years of research and travels to Asia, this work is a must-have for all librarians.

Comprehensive internationalization is a strategic process that seeks to align initiatives for globally-oriented and internationally-connected programs that is essential for the attainment of global competitiveness and qualification recognition. Internationalization of higher education has been in broad debate among professionals, and procedures and processes towards desired quality of library and information science (LIS) academic standards are still a continuing discussion among stakeholders. Internationalization of Library and Information Science Education in the Asia-Pacific Region is a critical scholarly resource that examines the internationalization of LIS education to promote, develop, and facilitate engagement and mobility of library professionals around the world with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region. This book can open doors for greater global engagement and cooperation among LIS schools and professional governing bodies in countries that can mutually benefit and propel development to be on par with European and North American counterparts. While highlighting various topics such as global engagement, curriculum design, and knowledge sharing, this book is ideal for academicians, library professionals, instructional designers, researchers, curriculum designers, librarians, educators, and students.

Presenting groundbreaking research on the East Asian library, this book provides theoretical exploration on the subject through a passive model of glocalism. It details various aspects of the field and comprehensively covers the progress and conflicts in practice. The issues and perspectives raised here will lead to a rethinking of the field and its role in global interactivity with East Asia. The book will also provide library guidance to the scholars in East Asian studies and related disciplines, offering support to East Asian resources and services that significantly affect scholarly activities.

Library professionals and scholars share reflections, best practices, and strategies for building collections about and supporting the information needs of Asian American communities. It conveys the need for diversity in the LIS field, library programming, and resources to better reflect the experiences and needs of Asian Americans.

Volume 2 of Inside Major East Asian Library Collections in North America presents an extensive collection of interviews that give key insights into Chinese, Korean, and Asian American librarianship

Library professionals and scholars share reflections, best practices, and strategies for building collections about and supporting the information needs of Asian American communities. It conveys the need for diversity in the LIS field, library programming, and resources to better reflect the experiences and needs of Asian Americans.