Internationalization in German Academic Libraries: Moving beyond North American Perspectives

Abstract

This paper explores how internationalization is understood and experienced in German academic libraries. Its main purpose is to move the discussion of internationalization in academic libraries beyond the boundaries of English-speaking North America by investigating a European perspective. Its secondary purpose is to investigate the role of English in German academic libraries. An online survey and a series of in-person interviews conducted in Germany in April 2015 provided the data for this study. What emerged are a series of stated differences and similarities between North America and Germany informed by the two overarching themes of implicit internationalization and plurilingualism, the ability to switch from one language to another as required.

Becoming a global library at the local: internationalization activities and practices of Philippine academic libraries

“…Consistent with the findings of previous studies (Aihong, 2009;Allen, 1993;Amsberry, 2008;Bordonaro, 2017;Bordonaro and Rauchmann, 2015;Green, 2013), academic libraries in this study offer various services for international students and engage in diverse internationalization activities. Literature indicated that academic libraries have a long history of involvement in international projects and programs ranging from supporting professional development abroad to assisting branch campuses with teaching and learning, research and student services (Witt et al, 2015).…”

“…When establishing library services for international students, Allen (1993) suggested that libraries should investigate international students' characteristics and usage practices since they may have unique needs. Contrary to Aihong's (2009) and Bordonaro and Rauchmann's (2015) studies, most academic libraries in this research do not provide a bilingual environment for international students. Furthermore, respondents reported that language instruction is not frequent for international students.…”

“…Library services for international students Library services for international students have also become increasingly well-documented. The most common library services are library instruction and access to library resources on international topics (Allen, 1993;Amsberry, 2008;Aihong, 2009;Green, 2013;Bordonaro and Rauchmann, 2015). In terms of instruction, Witt et al (2015) report that academic librarians create guides on studying abroad and foreign language courses and teach students courses with a global focus.…”

“…The language barrier is one of the major challenges facing international students, even more when English is not the primary language of the host country. To help international students overcome language barrier, German academic libraries (Bordonaro and Rauchmann, 2015) and Tsinghua University Library in Beijing (Aihong, 2009) provided a bilingual library environment. They offer services in the English language via their web pages, library catalogs, academic information resource portal, desk services, library classes or workshops, email or chat reference, video tours and public signage.…”

Contribuciones de la biblioteca universitaria a la internacionalización del campus: análisis sistemático de la literatura

“…Varios trabajos incluidos en este estudio muestran que generalmente las iniciativas de internacionalización son lideradas por las autoridades universitarias y que, en muchos casos, los niveles de internacionalización que las universidades declaran no se corresponden con los niveles que exhiben las bibliotecas. Además, aunque las bibliotecas realizan numerosas actividades que contribuyen con la internacionalización, estas no están articuladas en sus planes estratégicos (BORDONARO; RAUCHMANN, 2015;WITT;KUTNER;COOPER, 2015).…”