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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Clausen, Beth E.
Format: Recurso educativo Open Access
Language:en
Published: 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1069745
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author Clausen, Beth E.
author_facet Clausen, Beth E.
Clausen, Beth E.
collection Education Resources Information Center
contents Think Globally, Act Locally: A Library Perspective Clausen, Beth E. Foreign Countries Academic Libraries Global Approach Librarians Library Services Library Administration Experience Intellectual Freedom Censorship Cultural Differences In this article, the author presents observations learned while "on loan" from Northwestern University (NU), Evanston, Illinois, to the campus library in Doha, Qatar, (NU-Q) Middle East. The author's ongoing experience is helping her see how important global exposure can be to a library professional's attaining a deeper and wider level of international awareness. Reflecting upon reports and other resources about the internationalization of US higher education, there was barely or rarely a mention of libraries, library services, or development of information-seeking skills. Yet, active participation allows librarians to become more aware of the contexts and operations of libraries serving students in other countries. In the relatively short time at NU-Q, conversations with new colleagues jarred her thinking about library issues, services, and operations in a different way--such as work in a "start-up" library, the feeling of remoteness, a smaller professional network, trying to increase library use given the different perception and experience of libraries by the clientele, and different perspectives about intellectual freedom and potential censorship. Not to be overlooked though were the benefits of working in a library outside the United States, broadening one's professional connections, gaining exposure to different issues related to publishing and distribution, and engaging with a clientele having dramatically different cultural experiences from one's own. Though six months into a two-year loan, the experience is showing benefits from broader global awareness both to the librarian and to those she serves.
format Recurso educativo Open Access
id eric_EJ1069745
institution ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
language en
publishDate 2015
record_format eric
spellingShingle Think Globally, Act Locally: A Library Perspective
Clausen, Beth E.
Foreign Countries
Academic Libraries
Global Approach
Librarians
Library Services
Library Administration
Experience
Intellectual Freedom
Censorship
Cultural Differences
Think Globally, Act Locally: A Library Perspective Clausen, Beth E. Foreign Countries Academic Libraries Global Approach Librarians Library Services Library Administration Experience Intellectual Freedom Censorship Cultural Differences In this article, the author presents observations learned while "on loan" from Northwestern University (NU), Evanston, Illinois, to the campus library in Doha, Qatar, (NU-Q) Middle East. The author's ongoing experience is helping her see how important global exposure can be to a library professional's attaining a deeper and wider level of international awareness. Reflecting upon reports and other resources about the internationalization of US higher education, there was barely or rarely a mention of libraries, library services, or development of information-seeking skills. Yet, active participation allows librarians to become more aware of the contexts and operations of libraries serving students in other countries. In the relatively short time at NU-Q, conversations with new colleagues jarred her thinking about library issues, services, and operations in a different way--such as work in a "start-up" library, the feeling of remoteness, a smaller professional network, trying to increase library use given the different perception and experience of libraries by the clientele, and different perspectives about intellectual freedom and potential censorship. Not to be overlooked though were the benefits of working in a library outside the United States, broadening one's professional connections, gaining exposure to different issues related to publishing and distribution, and engaging with a clientele having dramatically different cultural experiences from one's own. Though six months into a two-year loan, the experience is showing benefits from broader global awareness both to the librarian and to those she serves.
title Think Globally, Act Locally: A Library Perspective
topic Foreign Countries
Academic Libraries
Global Approach
Librarians
Library Services
Library Administration
Experience
Intellectual Freedom
Censorship
Cultural Differences
url https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1069745