Presents interviews with over 40 librarians from around the world who tell of their library programs. The volumes are arranged geographically with Volume 1 offering interviews from library professionals from the USA and Europe, and with Volume 2 sharing programs from Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East.

"A rare opportunity to encounter the daily experiences of numerous international school librarians in a published work. [The book] introduces readers to a wide range of librarians working in rural and urban schools. The various experiences of these diverse librarians are captured through a question and answer format that highlights the challenges and opportunities they encounter. Read collectively, these interviews showcase commonalities among the profiled librarians nationally and internationally, serving as windows into the experiences of other librarians and as mirrors of shared professional values. At the same time, these conversations provide a treasure trove of inspiring narratives sure to spark rich discussions about global issues facing contemporary school librarians. . . . Certainly, this collection of interviews provides a large window of experiences that teachers can explore to better understand their colleagues in the school library."

Jamie Campbell Naidoo, PhD, Pauline Foster-EBSCO Endowed Professor, School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alabama, International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies

"An indispensable compilation of the best practices in the library industry. Throughout my career, I have found watching, listening and learning from other people’s real-life experiences on the front line to be extremely enlightening and beneficial. I attribute all of my successes as a leader to the valuable lessons that I have learned from my peers. This exceptional compilation of case studies is sure to imbue the reader with sparks for a myriad of great ideas and at the same time, help mitigate the chances of falling into a hole. Library services for children and young people are among the most important services that libraries offer. These services are an investment in the future and are more critical now than ever. I invite you to be inspired to create your own programming vision, advancing the library industry even further and making it even more transformative."

Lance M. Werner, Executive Director of the Kent District Library, Michigan, USA

Dr. Patrick Lo served as Associate Professor at the Faculty of Library, Information & Media Science, University of Tsukuba in Japan. He earned his Doctor of Education (EdD from the University of Bristol (UK), and has a Master of Arts in Design Management (MA) from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from McGill University (Canada), and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from Mount Allison University (Canada). He also took part in a one-year academic exchange at the University of Tübingen in Germany. He is efficient in Chinese (both Cantonese and Putonghua), English and German. Dr. Patrick Lo has presented nine monographs and 150 research papers and project reports focusing on librarianship, humanities, and education at different local and international workgroup meetings, seminars, conferences, etc., including in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Turkey, United States, and Sweden, and at institutions including the Library of Congress (US), Austrian National Library (Vienna), University of Vienna, National Library of France (Paris), National Institute of Informatics (Japan), Konrad-Zuse-Center for Information Technology (Berlin), etc. His latest book projects on international comparative librarianship include Conversations with Leading Academic and Research Library Directors: International Perspectives on Library Management; Inside the World’s Major East Asian Collections: Conversations with the World’s Leading East Asian Librarians, Archivists and Museum Curators; World’s Leading National, Public, Monastery and Royal Library Directors: Leadership, Management, Future of Libraries; and Conversations with the World’s Leading Orchestra and Opera Librarians.

Stephanie H. S. Wu is a freelance writer from Hong Kong. From a young age she has developed an appreciation for literature and a lasting interest in the humanities. She has built a personal brand through blogging and specialises in photography, design, and writing. She has become a corporate ambassador and social media promoter for multiple companies and has had her creative work publicly endorsed by a television series. Stephanie is currently expanding her portfolio to reach other creative industries and has plans to start an ecommerce business.

Andrew J. Stark is an Associate Dean and Head of Libraries and Information Services at The Southport School, an independent Anglican School for boys, on Queensland’s Gold Coast, Australia. For the last ten years, he has been directly involved with developing and promoting library services within independent schools and the broader community. He has completed extensive research into the value of creating positive learning and teaching spaces for all members of the school community. Andrew recognises that the modern librarian requires skills far beyond that of literary expert and research assistant. The contemporary library context now requires public relations experts who can coordinate open, democratic spaces while managing the plethora of available ICTs and text-types, thus enabling students, staff, and parents to make sense of what is on offer in the 21st century library. Andrew is also a member of the Human Research Ethics Committee at Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia.

Bradley Allard is currently a Reference and Outreach Librarian at the Clark County Public Library in Winchester, Kentucky, USA. He received an MLIS degree from the University of Kentucky, an MA in the Japanese language and literature from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and a BA in English literature from the University of Kentucky. He has also spent extensive time studying in Japan as an exchange student at the International Christian University and the University of Tsukuba. His research interests focus on multicultural services in public libraries, outreach services to prisoners, and international librarianship.