Agents of change: The rise of international librarianship and the age of globalization

Abstract

Focusing on the development of international librarianship in the interwar period, this paper uses the Paris Library School as a case study to explore the impact of new forms of internationalism on the development of the profession globally. Administered by the American Library Association from 1923 to 1928, the Paris Library School offers a unique view of the evolving international network of library and information professionals that formed such organizations as the International Federation of Library Associations. Through this historical case study, international librarianship is viewed in the context of globalization theories that focus the advent of international nongovernmental organizations, growth of global networks, and impact of transnational cultural flows. This analysis places international librarianship in the context of the wider social and technological developments that contributed to the economic and cultural phenomena characterized as globalization and provides a new theoretical basis for examining the growth, impact, and flow of international library development.