International and Comparative Librarianship: Concepts and Methods for Global Studies

Based on his extensive experience in international librarianship, Peter Johan Lor, South Africa s first National Librarian and a former Secretary General of the IFLA, has written the first comprehensive and systematic overview of international and comparative librarianship.

Throughout the book, Lor draws not only upon his personal experiences working as a librarian in South Africa, but also upon over 5,000 texts in numerous languages. He covers the full range of international relations among libraries and information services, with particular attention to the international political economy of information, the international diffusion of innovations and policy in LIS, LIS development, and international aid.

Peter Johan Lor holds a D.Phil. degree (1991) as well as an honorary doctorate (2008) from the University of Pretoria. He held positions in special and academic libraries and as a professor of library science at the University of South Africa before becoming the Director of the State Library in 1992. He was South Africa’s first National Librarian (2000-2003) and served as Secretary General of IFLA during 2005-2008. He was a visiting professor in the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee during 2009-2011, where he continues to teach an online course in International and Comparative Librarianship from time to time. Now a research associate in the Department of Information Science at the University of Pretoria, his current research focuses on international and comparative librarianship and on the ethical and political economic aspects of international information relations.