From SUNY Press: “International librarianship stems from a desire to bring about political change, transcultural understanding, collaboration, and mutual respect. Historically, librarians have been deeply involved with challenging issues of information sharing, equity in information access, and bridging the digital divide between different socioeconomic communities. This collection draws on case studies from American librarians who traveled to Central America, the Caribbean, Central Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean, and Asia to participate in librarian-initiated and sponsored projects. They united communities, promoted religious and cultural tolerance, developed new facilities, or enhanced existing libraries and archives, thereby enriching communities with resources, professional expertise, new partnerships, and sustainable development practices. International Librarianship offers insight into how these experiences might serve as templates and promote best practices in collaborations within the library profession in the United States and abroad, and it also demonstrates how international experiences can enliven home institutions upon return.

Sandra Kendall, Director of Library Services at Sinai Health System and incoming President of the Ontario Health Libraries Association has published a chapter in International Librarianship: Developing Professional, Intercultural, and Educational Leadership, available now from SUNY Press.  In the chapter,“The Toronto-Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration Library Science Program (TAAAC): A Case Study in Global Librarianship in Ethiopia” Sandra Kendall,   reflects on her years of partnership with the  Addis Ababa University.  Her work, along with U of T Psychiatry faculty and residents, has contributed to the strengthening of medical library services, information literacy, and clinical librarianship across the medical departments at AAU, College of Health Sciences.   This ongoing academic collaboration sensitively responds to the needs of Ethiopian librarians, faculty and residents, the cultural competence of visiting scholars, and the unique challenges of Internet access and bandwidth in the region.   Sandra and her colleagues have to date trained over 1200 librarians, faculty, and residents at AAU on evidence-based research and information literacy throughout years of travel to the region.  Sandra Kendall is the Director of Library Services at Sinai Health System in Toronto, Canada, and is the incoming president of the Ontario Health Sciences Library Association.