Library and information specialists explore challenges and possibilities of the profession in the world beyond the West. The topics include the influence of social networking and library 2.0 as a gateway for information access and knowledge sharing in Africa, a proposal to study the information seeking behavior of people using cross-language information retrieval systems, developing electronic information resources to promote the social inclusion of vulnerable communities in Uruguay, the information seeking behavior within Mongolian scholarly communities, digital inclusion of the elderly at a pensioner's club in Romania, and information behavior in the changing technological era by undergraduate students at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
While high quality library and information services continue to thrive and strengthen economic and social development, much of the knowledge that exists on user’s needs and behaviors is fundamentally based on the results of users in English-speaking, western developed countries. Information Access and Library User Needs in Developing Countries highlights the struggles that developing countries face in terms of information gaps and information-seeking user behavior. The publication highlights ways in which users in developing countries can benefit from properly implementing LIS services. Researchers, academics, and practitioners interested in the design and delivery of information services will benefit from this collection of research.
