Globalization in the Lives of the Selectors of Foreign Materials and Their Collections

Globalization is affecting both societies at large and the lives of librarians, especially selectors of foreign materials. According to one definition, globalization is “the accelerating process that involves the formation of complex power and communication relations worldwide between societies, cultures, institutions and individuals. One of the most important features of this process is the transformation of time and space constraints” (1). Globalization is multidirectional, meaning not only increased Western influence but also intensified influence in the other direction as the cultural products of subaltern countries find more avenues for foreign exposure. Implicit in the globalization of librarianship is the contrast to an earlier time when we worked in relative isolation and autonomy. To capture this prelapsarian state for collection development librarians, consider the now rare full-time bibliographer for foreign materials.