World Libraries: IFLA releases “Libraries in the Early 21st Century: an International Perspective”

The introduction of technology in libraries in the last quarter of the twentieth century has changed the face of libraries, their operations, and access to their collections. The new volume of "Libraries in the Early 21st Century: An International Perspective" released by IFLA gives a truly international overview of the development of libraries and library technology in many countries of the world, including: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, Canada, China, France, Azerbaijan, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Nigeria, Russia, Spain, Morocco, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and others.

The careful selection of countries achieves good representation of library work on all continents, covering examples of both the developed and the developing world.

The individual chapters deal with current development in libraries with an emphasis on technology and the future of libraries to the year 2025.

A second volume of the book will be published in 2012 with chapters from a variety of developed and developing nations with rich information concerning the impact of technology on libraries, for the benefit of all librarians, scholars, and library educators. All chapters have been written by well-known library leaders and library educators-including several former IFLA presidents. This book is an excellent addition to the library literature and international librarianship and is highly recommended for all types of libraries.