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: Emerging Models and Practices of U.S. Academic Libraries Around the Globe 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.
