Youth-Serving Libraries in Japan, Russia, and the United States
Edited by Lesley S.J. Farmer Associate editor Natalia Gendina, Yuriko Nakamura
Publication date:
30 December 2011Length of book:
378 pagesPublisher
Scarecrow PressISBN-13: 9780810882256
In recent years, interest in International Librarianship has grown rapidly and will continue to grow as globalization influences education and librarianship. In countries around the world, public and school libraries have unique roles and their staffs collaborate across types of libraries to varying degrees. Library staff preparation, training, and ongoing learning and organization of youth-serving librarians mirror each country’s values and priorities.
The essays in Youth-Serving Libraries in Japan, Russia, and the United States address the universal and culture-specific aspects of library services to children and teens in these three countries. This collection shows how libraries have developed in light of each country’s political, educational, and social history. They examine how government and citizen roles in youth-serving libraries also reflect culturally defined social structures. The chapters highlight unique collections and services within each country and also show how librarians deal with the challenges they encounter, both from within their culture as well as from outside—including natural disasters. Each country’s authors discuss contemporary issues that face youth-serving libraries, such as information literacy, reading in a multimedia world, and the overarching influence of technology.
This book will be of interest to youth-serving librarians around the world, library educators, and for those studying international and young adult librarianship.
The essays in Youth-Serving Libraries in Japan, Russia, and the United States address the universal and culture-specific aspects of library services to children and teens in these three countries. This collection shows how libraries have developed in light of each country’s political, educational, and social history. They examine how government and citizen roles in youth-serving libraries also reflect culturally defined social structures. The chapters highlight unique collections and services within each country and also show how librarians deal with the challenges they encounter, both from within their culture as well as from outside—including natural disasters. Each country’s authors discuss contemporary issues that face youth-serving libraries, such as information literacy, reading in a multimedia world, and the overarching influence of technology.
This book will be of interest to youth-serving librarians around the world, library educators, and for those studying international and young adult librarianship.
Farmer, coordinator of the Library Media Teacher program at CSU–Long Beach, vice president of the International Association of School Librarianship, and a Booklist reviewer, presents 18 essays covering various aspects of international youth librarianship. Along with her associate editors, Farmer aims to start a discussion of the history and ongoing development of youth-serving libraries in their respective countries, with the goal of building bridges across cultural barriers. The book is divided by country, with each section giving an overview of libraries and then delving into more specific topics—an essay on media literacy in Japan; one on the role of a children’s library as a “center of tolerance, international communication, and peacemaking” in Russia; and school-library partnerships in the U.S. Public and school librarians with a focus on serving young patrons will enjoy having this book in their professional collections.