(12 September 2016, Chicago) The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) announces the publication of Bridging Worlds: Emerging Models and Practices of U.S. Academic Libraries Around the Globe. Edited by Raymond Pun, Scott Collard, and Justin Parrott, the book provides insight into international academic libraries and provides best practices and practical leadership strategies.
Over the past decade, a growing number of American colleges and universities have made international engagement a key facet of their missions, emphasizing global awareness, interconnectedness, and student and community diversity. Universities are establishing campuses, branches, and enhanced programs outside of the United States, and many are partnering with foreign institutions in the Middle East and East Asia to introduce and integrate Western higher education into these regions. These collaborations seek to take advantage of the blending of cultural, social, political, and economic communities, and to chart new territories in research, teaching, and learning.
Academic libraries are playing a key role in many of these undertakings, acting as partners in the development of campus community, student life, and research. “Bridging Worlds” presents examples of libraries working to play their part in campus development and international engagement. This book provides practical best practices, lessons learned, and perspectives gained, from collection building to finances to designing spaces, and touches on some of the cultural, political, and social factors at play as institutions work to support these complex organizations.
Raymond Pun is first year student success librarian at California State University-Fresno. Previously, he was a reference and research services librarian at New York University Shanghai. Scott Collard is head of Specialized Research Services and Social Sciences at New York University Division of Libraries. Justin Parrott has been Technical Services and Research Librarian at New York University Abu Dhabi since December 2012. He currently manages the local technical services unit for NYU Abu Dhabi Library and is liaison to the university’s Mathematics, Arabic, and Chinese language departments.
“Bridging Worlds: Emerging Models and Practices of U.S. Academic Libraries Around the Globe” is available for purchase in print and as an ebook through the ALA Online Store and in print from Amazon.com, and by telephone order at (866) 746-7252 in the U.S. or (770) 442-8633 for international customers.
The announcement is here.
