Introducing International & Comparative Librarianship · Le biblioteche scolastiche negli Stati Uniti 5. US influence on school libraries in South Africa 6. Information literacy instruction

IntroducingInternational & Comparative

LibrarianshipPeter Johan Lor, University of Pretoria

What do these cities have in common?

Bali, Indonesia 2013Nairobi

2011

Baku, Azerbaijan 2012

Vilnius 2010

João Pessoa 2015

Istanbul 2014

Quiz:

What do the following stand for?

FAIFEFRBRIBBYICANNIFEXITUISOWIPO

Quiz: Answers


FAIFE: Free Access to Information and freedom of expression FRBR: Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records IBBY: International Board on Books for Young PeopleICANN: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and NumbersIFEX: International Freedom of Expression ExchangeITU: International Telecommunications UnionISO: International Organization for StandardizationWIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization

Quiz: Answers


FAIFE: Free Access to Information and freedom of expression FRBR: Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records IBBY: International Board on Books for Young PeopleICANN: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and NumbersIFEX: International Freedom of Expression ExchangeITU: International Telecommunications UnionISO: International Organization for StandardizationWIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization

Which is the odd man out?

How many countries are there?

What do you understand by

“International”?

International librarianship (and information work)

“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: 221)

Parker, J.S. (1974) International librarianship – a reconnaissance. Journal of librarianship 6(4):219-232.

Which of the following fall within international librarianship?

1. US aid to develop library schools in Brazil

2. A description of public libraries in Rio de Janeiro

3. Resource sharing among libraries in the Pacific Rim

4. Le biblioteche scolastiche negli Stati Uniti

5. US influence on school libraries in South Africa

6. Information literacy instruction for international students

7. UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme

LibraryLibrary

Library

Library

LibraryLibrary

Country A

Country B

Library

Library

Library

Library

Library

Library

Library

Library

Library

Library

LibraryStaff training

Brain drain

Library

LibraryIndigenous knowledge

International librarianship

Country A Country C

Country B

International influencesglobal politics – economics – resources – power shifts

– security – environment – ICTs – globalization –commodification –

dematerialization, etc.

Intergovernmental organizations (UNESCO, WHO, FAO, WIPO, WTO…)

International non-governmental organizations, foundations, charities…

Education, scholarly research, communication, databases,

publishing, IPRs, information commons, ethics, etc.

Some themes

• International influences and “borrowing”

• Library development aid; “book aid”

• International organizations: e.g. IFLA

• International resource sharing

• International information relations

• Your international career

• International comparisons

Some themes








Image IMG_5543 from Springvale Primary School, Pretoria, (With permission of the principal of the school and the parents of the children pictured)

Spot the innovations/influences

Image IMG_5543 from Springvale Primary School, Pretoria, (With permission of the principal of the school and the parents of the children pictured)

Spot the innovations/influences

International LIS Influence

Europe: former colonial powersTrade and cultural influences; development aid WHICH country

influences WHICH country?

International LIS Influence (2)

United StatesTrade and cultural influences; security-related aid WHICH country

influences WHICH country?

What is transferred or disseminated?

Equipment

Professional associations

Funding policies Governance policies

Educational & cultural philosophies

Social aimsValues

Systems

Procedures

Techniques

Education & training

Low resistance

Materials

Database access

High resistance

High context-dependence

Low context-dependence

Some themes








This school library at Mogosane Combined School in the Northwest province, South Africa, is one of only a few functional libraries in this rural area. Images: iBiblio, http://www.ibiblio.org/wlp/7-11-mogosane-library.html

Book famine!How is this possible in South Africa, the biggest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Image: Isang Bata: http://isangbata.blogspot.com/2010/06/isang-bata-receives-book-donations-from.html

Send books!

There are many philanthropic and charitable agencies that send books to Africa.Some do great work.Others do not.


“Horror stories” abound.To Namibia: American books on hairdressing (in Spanish)

(personal communication)

To Nigeria:The topography of Wales (1820)Morley’s The life of Richard Cobden (1879)How to win the war: an address to the Polish people (in Polish)

(From: Sturges & Neil, The quiet struggle)

Publishers’ remainders = tax breaksImpact of “dumping” on local book industries


Some themes








26

Image: Profholtz, http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3608/3320137768_ece7b7d5b3.jpg

What is going on here?

27

Sinclair, I.,, Hockey, P., & Tarboton, W.

(2002) SASOL Birds of Southern Africa.

3rd ed. Cape Town, Struik Publishers.

L&I SCI 891 Module 3A, slide 27

28Prehistoric Paleo-Indian Migration, by O. Ned Eddins

http://www.mountainsofstone.com/images/Paleo-Indian%20Points.jpg

29

)

Classification of Romance Languages

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classification_of_Romance_languages

English I have I have done There is Auxiliary verbs

Romanian (eu) am (eu) am făcut este (or e) HHE

Italian (io) ho (io) ho fatto c'è HHE

Sardinian (deo) apo (deo) apo fattu b'hat HHH

French j'ai j'ai fait il y a HHH

Catalan (jo) tinc (jo) he fet hi ha THH

Spanish (yo) tengo (yo) he hecho hay THH

Portuguese (eu) tenho (eu) tenho feito há TTH

Portuguese (Brazil)

(eu) tenho (eu) tenho feito tem TTT

H: Habere (to have)

E: Esse (to be)

T: Tenere (to hold)

30

Comparison in experimental designs

Hantrais, Linda (2009) International comparative research: theory, methods and practice.

Basingstoke (England): Palgrave Macmillan, p.60.

Does an intervention (manipulation of independent variable)

affect the value of the dependent variable?

X (Intervention) O1 (Observation)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[No intervention] O2

(Observation)

(Not a true experimental design – a

pre-experimental design)

31

Comparative librarianship

Comparative librarianship is an “...area of scholarly investigation

and research [that] may be defined as the analysis of libraries,

library systems, some aspect of librarianship, or library problems

in two or more national, cultural or societal environments, in

terms of socio-political, economic, cultural, ideological, and

historical contexts. This analysis is for the purpose of

understanding the underlying similarities and differences and for

determining explanations of the differences, with the ultimate

aim of trying to arrive at valid generalizations and principles.”

(Danton 1973: p.52)

32

Comparative librarianship (2)

Three requirements:

A “cross-societal”or “cross-cultural” element.

Often cross-country or international

Comparison can be conducted within a single country, if significant societal, cultural or ideological differences.

“Actual comparisons” Beyond mere descriptions or juxtaposition of data

Comparison implies the analysis of the similarities and differences in the sets of data collected.

An attempt to explain the observed similarities and differences with a view to building theory. Rigorous scientific methodology, as in other, older comparative disciplines

such as comparative education.

InternationalLibrarianship/

LIS

Comparison in LIS

Comparative Librarianship/LIS

A field/discipline(?) of systematic scholarly study; also cross-cultural &

cross-societal

A field of activity(can be subject of scholarly study)

For practical, tactical and

scholarly purposes

International comparisons

• Why? (Purpose)

• By whom? (Symmetry)

• What? (Themes; Scope)

• Which countries? (How many, how to choose)

• How? (Methodology)

35

K-12ElementaryMiddleHigh

Junior College

Community College

Four-yearCollege

University

School SchoolPrimaryMiddle?Secondary

Post-Secondary

Nursing, teachersCollegesUniversity of Technology

University

?

?

?

?

?

Challenges in comparative research:Spurious lexical equivalence

USA

South Africa

Want to see the world ?

Become a librarian

Thank you!Peter Lor [email protected]

More information on my website:http://peterlor.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://peterlor.com/

Introducing International & Comparative Librarianship · Le biblioteche scolastiche negli Stati Uniti 5. US influence on school libraries in South Africa 6. Information literacy instruction

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