Internationalization and the North American University Library
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This book offers a fresh perspective on understanding university library work with international users in North America. It investigates what librarians, international students, and international scholars perceive the role of the university library to be in internationalization in higher education. It also explores the phenomenon of internationalization itself as it is lived and experienced by both librarians and international users.
Personal definitions and experiences of internationalization offered by librarians and international users include viewing internationalization as the broadening of knowledge on multiple levels, the idea of seeing oneself as part of a greater whole, and the building of international research connections. Both librarians and international users describe elements of internationalization such as exposure, awareness, engagement, empathy, and transcending boundaries. Inherent contradictions are present as well, such as the stronger emphasis on defining differences rather than similarities and the disconnect between inward and outward looking aspects of internationalization.
Finally, this book connects theoretical perspectives concerning the phenomenon of internationalization to the practice of academic librarianship in North America. It does this by presenting what librarians in both the United States and Canada think about working with international users in terms of benefits, challenges, and best practices. Practical lessons learned include the need to move beyond focusing solely on the linguistic and cultural challenges of working with international users to also consider the positive aspects of working with them, such as widening worldviews and expanding personal knowledge.
Introduction: Why another Book about International Students and Libraries?
Chapter 1: Internationalization in Higher Education and the University Library
Chapter 2: The Role of the University Library in Internationalization: Librarian Voices
Chapter 3: The Role of the University Library in Internationalization: International Student Voices
Chapter 4: The Role of the University Library in Internationalization: International Scholar Voices
Chapter 5: The Role of the University Library in Internationalization: American and Canadian Perspectives
Chapter 6: The Phenomenon of Internationalization: Points of Convergence
Chapter 7: Putting It All Together: Informing the Practice of Academic Librarianship
Selected Bibliography
This book is the result of an online survey done with a limited number of foreign students and scholars enrolled in two border universities of Canada and the United States in Ontario and New York, respectively. It was followed by in-depth interviews with 10 librarians of two universities, as well as a few foreign students and scholars. The results show that there is a need of internationalization of academic library services due to the changing impact of the introduction of technology in libraries, including databases and the internet. Views of three parties who participated in the survey are important and can help to define the roles foreign students, international scholars of various universities, and academic librarians working with them can play in internationalization of libraries in higher education. There are seven well-written chapters in the book and a good selected bibliography. . . .This book is recommended for all academic libraries with a large foreign student population and international visiting scholars.
Karen Bordonaro has written this book to provide a more complete picture of the role of the library in the internationalization of the university. . . . Bordonaro has produced a study that contributes significantly to our understanding of the role of internationalization in the universities of both Canada and the United States as well as the key role that a library should play in that process. What distinguishes this study from others is that she places the library in the broader context of institutional policy and practice and she views the library through the lens of actual international students and visiting scholars whom she interviewed extensively at two institutions, one in Canada and the other in the United States. The insights she gleans from those interviews are very useful for libraries attempting to be relevant to international users. . . .The book contains a great deal of sage and practical advice for librarians planning services for international students. The focus of the book is on engaging such students in positive and relevant interactions that actually meet their needs as they view them as opposed to how librarians might see those needs. Giving voice to international users of North American libraries is the most important aspect of this book.This is a must read for North American librarians serious about serving international students and contributing positively to their institution’s efforts to broaden perspectives on campus by increasing their global presence and programs.
Product Details
- Title : Internationalization and the North American University Library
- Author: Bordonaro, Karen
- Publisher: Scarecrow Press
- Publication Date: 2013
- ISBN: 9780810891845