Global Information Inequalities Bridging the Information Gap Chandos Information Professional Series

The disparity in access to information is a worldwide phenomenon. Global Information Inequalities offers a captivating look into problems of information access across the world today. One of the unique strengths of the book is the use of examples of library initiatives from around the world to illustrate the range of possibilities for equitable access and library service delivery in a global context. It contains numerous examples of a wide variety of information problems and solutions ranging from developing literacy programs in rural communities in Tanzania, building school libraries in China, making government-related information more transparent in Chile, to exploring how digital technologies have the potential to revolutionize the lives of people with sensory-disabilities. The contributions in Global Information Inequalities address a number of core professional issues, including access to information, library services, collection development, global collaboration, intellectual property, and digital information. The contributors are from Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, Iceland, Malaysia, Peru, South Africa, Tanzania, United States, and Zambia, thereby providing a wide range of perspectives on librarianship. Written in a simple, thorough, and multidisciplinary approach, the book presents and discusses key issues in various library settings and from different perspectives. Overall, this work contributes to a global examination and exploration of libraries in various parts of the world. This book has a wide appeal and is applicable to various library environments (including academic, public, and special libraries).

Part 1 Information mobilisation: Social and economic development: Sustainable access: An international perspective; Developing a model for library resource sharing in China’s rural communities; Braving rapids and winding timber-tracks: Towards equitable access to information for libraries in Sarawak; Community resource centres in Mtwara, Lindi and Ruvuma regions in Tanzania: An evaluation of their development needs, usefulness, and the way forward. Part 2 Information empowerment: Equitable access and civic engagement: Is there a moon in the United States? Information reception, flow and use in rural villages on the Amazon river basin of Peru; Libraries and citizen participation in Chile: I have the right to know; Equity and access: Is countrywide access to databases an option? Part 3 Social inclusion: Inclusive library services for those with sensory and learning disabilities: Working together to provide an inclusive library service: A Canadian model; Copyright: Are people with sensory disabilities getting a fair deal? Part 4 Information divides: Challenges and opportunities for a global information society: Bookmobiles: Providing equitable service to all; When the knowledge ditch is dug by our own hands: Libraries, indigenous peoples, and strategic information; MedlinePlus go local: Connecting at-risk populations with health care services; Barriers to free and equal access to information: Implications for being informed in sub-Saharan Africa.

Deborah H. Charbonneau is a Librarian at the Vera P. Shiffman Medical Library at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She currently serves as Principal Investigator for the U.S. National Library of Medicine-funded Urban Health Partners program. She facilitates partnerships between the library and community agencies and has also developed training programs and online products to provide information to diverse populations. She holds a B.A. in English Literature and an M.L.S. from the University of Pittsburgh. She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Sociology Program at Wayne State University.