Graduate Assistant University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
“International” in the context of librarianship, is often used to denote libraries or librarians geographically outside the border. While this is true to some extent, internationalism in librarianship also encompasses facilitating cross-culture understanding, globalizing changes and embracing diversity. This project will reflect on the experiences of librarians in the U.S. who have an international background, either explicitly (e.g through citizenship) or inexplicitly (e.g immigrants, librarians whose first language is not English, etc.). This research hopes to illustrate how they leverage their multicultural and cross-cultural identity to enrich the different aspects of librarianship and information literacy at their institution. Beyond identifying as global citizen, this representation of the multiculturality and diversity in the field can allow holistic services and empower diverse users. Since this project relies greatly on personal narratives and experiences, a combination of survey and interviews will be conducted. The responses will be recorded and coded using QDA tools to produce data visualizations like charts and graphs. The findings from the study will provide ways to advance cross-institutional collaboration and improve library services while cherishing individuals’ identities as international citizens. In addition, the poster will include an interactive and reflective activity where viewers are encouraged to reflect on what “international” and “global” means to them in the context of librarianship. Moving forward, this project is a departing point on how institutions can better support librarians with diverse backgrounds and limit the challenges that can stop them from fulfilling their responsibilities and professional values.